After the Burn: Inside Story
The fire that swept the Oakridge Mobile Home Park in Sylmar left devastation not seen since the 1961 Bel Air fire which destroyed more than 484 homes. The Oakridge inferno claimed nearly as many.
Those who lived in this closely knit community lost much more than just their homes... residents say the park was a little piece of paradise lost forever.
Producer Angela Shelley spent the day at Sylmar Senior High with the evacuees who tell their own moving stories of escaping the firestorm and trying to make sense of the senseless.
Mike Hernandez is one of the evacuees who shares his story with us; here are a few photos from his personal photo album -- the singed edges show how close these were to disappearing.
6 Comments
wow, I can't believe the devastation. My grandparents lived there, and I have many memories of the park. Truly sad.
Thank you for this sensitive documentary of the tragedy. It really highlights how this can happen to anyone in a moments notice and my thoughts go out to everyone in that community.
What a touching story! The piece about the photos says it all.
hi angela, this story is far from over, believe me. i have been out of my house in the oakridge park for 133 days, that's the correct figure. and i have been locked out of the park for 23 days. if this is the kind of response that victims of a major disaster can expect then we are in serious trouble. in oakridge only 1,500 persons were displaced, imagine a big time erthquake downtown were 200,000 are displaced! we should have been back inour home in three days after we found it undamaged and standing. authorities can't decide who is in control and they all want the credit for helping us. right now they are hindering us.
since i last wrote there is no change at the oakridge park. it is now 151 days and i have been locked out for 43 days. there are passable roads and the debris has disappeared, but no one will get the gates open to the residents. with the heat and wind predicted for this week, it is certain that the landscaping that remained after the fire will be collateral damage. it is a ridiculous situation, let us get on with our own personal business!
Where you live may be hazardous to your health. SoCal Connected examines the intersection of community, environment and health.
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Becky says :
This piece was very well done. You captured the emotions of the Oak Ridge residents (from the youngest to the mature) - my heart goes out to all of them. Thank you for doing such a good job on this video project.