'We feel so fortunate': The Irish in LA getting their lives back together after last month's wildfires
Irish actress Jenn McGuirk on the reaction to the recent wildfires in LA: 'Things are being dealt with so well.'
As the residents of Los Angeles continue to rebuild their lives and homes after last month’s deadly wildfires, the small but strong Irish community there continues to support one another.
While the actual cause of the fires, which began on January 7 and continued to burn until two weeks ago, have yet be determined, a combination of strong winds, an abnormally dry winter and a lack of rain fuelled the deadly blazes.
A total of 27 people lost their lives, and 100,000 people were displaced in what were the most destructive fires experienced in the county.
While the fires raged — threatening homes, lives and businesses — the Irish community who have made lives for themselves there, banded together to support each other. More than 200 Irish people joined a specially created WhatsApp group where they checked in with each other every day.
Now five weeks on as the mammoth clean-up operation begins, those affected have told the they are “as united as ever” and are grateful for all the support shown to them both at home and in the US.
Cork man Andrew Duggan and his partner Renata Carolina Ortega lost their home and business to the devastating wildfires. Mr Duggan, who is originally from Montenotte, on the city's northside, has lived in LA for 20 years.
He moved to the small town of Altadena near Eaton Canyon three years ago, where he and Renata set up their successful business Orla Floral Studio. But they were left devastated when their house and adjoining business burned to the ground.
At the time, Mr Duggan told the : “We have nothing, everything is gone, the business, our home, our designs.”
Within hours, the couple’s friends Maryam Ajayi and Neo Khama organised a fundraiser for them on GoFundMe that has so far raised €64,000. Mr Duggan said the response to their story — which also featured at the recent Grammy Music Awards — has been “incredible”.
“The [Grammys] production team saw our story on the news and got in touch,” Mr Duggan said. “It was so amazing, and we feel so grateful. They came out and filmed us for a piece that was being shown at the awards.
“They were extremely nice and the Grammys funded the whole thing. We got our delivery system up and running on the night it aired, and we began our online orders then.
“That took off, and we received a lot of corporate orders, so we have been very lucky, this online business now is a part of our new venture.”
The couple and their three dogs are currently staying with Renata’s family in LA, who have an extra studio unit below their property. They have also been donated a shipping container for storage and studio space.
“It’s only five weeks and already we feel so fortunate,” said Mr Duggan. “Out of a disaster something positive had come, something pretty amazing. The exposure and the love and support has been great, people are calling up and wanting to buy designs or arrangements.
"We have had lots of corporate orders. Friends from years ago in Cork were all in touch. We are trying to get going again that’s the main thing.”
Mr Duggan said he hopes to rebuild his home and move back to where the couple began their floral design company.
“The clean-up comes first,” he said. “There are different options to make that happen. There are private companies, or you can use the army to start with the clean-up.
“But there is a lot of toxic waste left in the debris. But we want to go back to where the business began and start again. With plenty of patience we can put things back together,” he said.
Actress Jenn McGuirk from Dublin is eight months pregnant and lives in LA with her partner Mat Raney and 15-month old daughter Elowen McGuirk.
The couple and their child did not have to be evacuated but, like thousands of others, were prepared to flee.
“We have had proper Irish rain now,” she told the . “It has been lashing out of the heavens outside, and so the fires are gone. That has been so helpful to see the rain.
“But there have been landslides, so the sea is filled with mud, but rain is good. A group of Samaritans are going into damaged properties dressed in hazmat suits and sifting through belongings for people.”
Ms McGuirk said the removal of electrical or gas works have been the main focus in the clean-up operation to date.
“Things are being dealt with so well,” she said. “But obviously electrics and gas are the most serious to begin with. The Pacific Coast Highway is completely closed off in Santa Monica, but there are other streets open off main road.
"I am back working, like most of us. I couldn’t have picked a more challenging time to be pregnant,” she joked.
She said the network of Irish people in LA has supported each other through “this very challenging time”.
“We have a creative network here,” she continued. “We dedicated our last meeting to people caught up in the fires and we have had GoFundMe pages and fundraisers, so we had a recent meeting with creatives, and we printed out the fundraisers with QR codes and shared out information.
“People have been sharing spaces and helping with those affected most.
“The Irish are always willing to help, it has been lovely, we have a great host of people, they are offering each other blow up beds, couches, anything they can do to help with those who have lost everything. It is heartwarming, but not surprising.”
Ms McGuirk said she is grateful to have her own “four walls still standing”.
While she herself has legal status in the US to work, she is concerned that many others do not, and that the Trump administration is "kicking out immigrants".
“They bring so much to a country,” she said. “But Trump says one thing and is doing something completely different. Look at all the Irish that came here and added a wealth of talent to the US."
Donegal bar owner Kevin Kearns has lived in LA for 30 years.
“We are back to normal, and it will be a long time cleaning up the damage” he told the . “The mudslides are dangerous, but we are back to a so-called normal but still reeling from the fires.”
Mr Kearns runs the Auld Fella pub and restaurant which was not damaged. He kept his doors open to offer shelter and support to those who needed it at the time.
“So many people have been displaced, houses and businesses burned to the ground, and there is a lot of toxic waste that needs to be cleaned up,” he said. “We have the fire service, and the national guard and private companies involved, as well as the army Corp of engineers.
“There are city agencies and the Environmental Protection Agency, who are inspecting the debris. But the downpours have been a huge help, and the air is cleaner.”
He said while the fires are no longer burning, he has no doubt, they will happen again. “There is a lot of forestry and dry vegetation. A lot of it too has to do with climate change.
“We just need to try and be more prepared, the damage to people’s livelihoods has been huge. But the Irish have rolled up their sleeves, as they always do.”
Mary O’Neill, a barrister in LA who runs an award-winning programme bringing Irish law students to Los Angeles, said the Irish have “really come together” since the wildfires.
She told the she was grateful that she and her husband did not have to be evacuated from the city but that they were in the danger zone and had their bags packed and were ready to flee.
“I am very lucky I didn’t have to go,” she said. “But there is a lot of damage now. The fires were out of control but thankfully they are out now, however, a rebuild is a long way off.
“House insurance for many has been a problem for the last couple of years, we had wildfires a few years ago and some companies did not renew, and a lot of people went uninsured.
“That’s really bad as they will have to hope for government aid."
She was part of the WhatsApp group linking up the Irish in LA and said that “the Irish always stick together”. “Everyone reached out to support each other and some were in worse positions than others” she said.
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