BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Danielle Lovell, a Western New York Native now living in California, was forced to evacuate her home Wednesday night due to the wildfires.
"Last night I was evacuated, I live right near the Sunset Fire," Lovell said. "Right now, I'm in Baldwin Hills, and it looks like it's snowing. It reminds me of a snowy day, a light snowy day back home because it's just ashes trickling down from the sky."
Lovell, originally from Batavia, said watching homes, businesses, and schools go up in flames is a nightmare. She recalled when she lived in New Orleans and also had to evacuate because of Hurricane Katrina.
"Thinking that we would always be able to go back to help rebuild, I don't know when that's going to happen," said Lovell. "I'm not sure what families have the means to do that and that's horrible to think about."
Crisanta Melendez, another Western New York native, now lives in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles. She spoke with me via Zoom on Thursday.
"It smells like a campfire outside, it's really devastating," Melendez said. "It's hard to watch. It's sad because you want to help out but at the same time you have to be ready to be the one that needs the help as well."
She said she always misses Buffalo but this tragedy makes her miss home even more.
Matthew Lorentz moved from Buffalo to LA about nine years ago, we also spoke to him on Thursday.
"Every couple of summers there are a few fires but they usually put them out right away," said Lorentz. "I never experienced anything like this. It's crazy. It just takes one little ember from a cigarette or a match or something to start a fire and then it just spreads all over. I'm in Studio City which...it's not the cool part of town. The cool parts are on the other side of the hill. I like to say I'm lucky that I'm not rich yet because I would have bought a house in the Palisades and I'd be homeless right now. I think it's hard for people who don't live here to understand just the magnitude of how destroyed everything is."
