LOS ANGELES — This time last year, Jon Cherkas and his wife were busy preparing to host relatives, friends and neighbors for Thanksgiving in their Southern California home of more than 20 years.
This year, the couple is planning to dine out with friends in Scottsdale, Arizona.
“We had such great community and fun with neighbors,” he said. “That’s the one thing that’s really missing now.”
Cherkas’ home was one of roughly 16,000 structures destroyed in the deadly Jan. 7 wildfires that consumed entire swaths of Los Angeles County. At least 31 people were killed, and more than 57,000 acres were scorched in densely populated communities including Altadena, Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Sunset Mesa, where Cherkas’ house overlooked the Pacific Ocean.
Thousands of empty lots now dot neighborhoods that would otherwise be brimming with holiday decorations. Survivors say those inescapable reminders of what was lost gives them a renewed appreciation of Thanksgiving.
“I’m optimistic and try not to dwell on it,” Cherkas said. He's seen wildfires disrupt the lives of plenty of other people. But now, he said, “I am that other person.”
So instead of getting ready for his annual party, Cherkas and his wife chose to spend Thanksgiving this year with old neighbors from Sunset Mesa who relocated to Arizona before the fire hit.
Being with old friends, he said, “makes it feel a little bit like being home.”
Cherkas intends to rebuild but says permitting is taking much longer than expected. Like all natural disasters, rebuilding is an onerous process. Fewer than 2,000 permits have been issued in burn zones out of 5,000 applications received to date, according to the state’s dashboard. About 3,100 are under review and thousands more have yet to be submitted.
Tom Reed, who also lost his home in the Palisades Fire, said this year has been a study in creative problem-solving. For Easter, rather than hosting the annual egg hunt for his grandchildren in the backyard, he and wife threw a party in the courtyard of their rental condo. The adults wore T-shirts with eggs attached via velcro. Instead of hunting for eggs, grandchildren hunted for grandparents.
“Things have changed, but I gotta find amusement,” he said
When the question of where to host Thanksgiving came around, Reed decided one day was simply not enough. Instead of cramming everyone into the condo, Reed, his wife and the rest of the family will spend the weekend at Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino Mountains.
“You can’t look back because it will mess with your head,” he said.
Across the county, in Altadena, Freddy Sayegh is back in his smoke-damaged house. It has been remediated, but his wife and two children remained at their rental for several months.
Tucked in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, Altadena felt like a small village nestled within a megapolis. It was filled with mom-and-pops stores and multigenerational families who purchased homes when other parts of the county were out of reach.
Sayegh and his extended family lost seven properties in the Eaton Fire, homes and businesses included. He has spent much of this year jumping from one rental to another waiting to be able to move back into his house.
Before the fire, Thanksgiving with the Sayeghs could mean celebrating with up to 60 people spread throughout “one big home cooking and sleeping and drinking and partying for 48 hours,” he said.
This year won’t be like that. Some relatives have decided to vacation out of state, and others made reservations to dine out.
