THE LA fire season is getting worse. Every year there is always some sort of fire happening in California, which just makes it seem unlucky for people that live in California. There have been so many here in Utah with family and friends in California — people who have lost houses, businesses, property, etc.  

There are many ways to help, especially during these moments when people need it the most. Something small can make a huge difference in the community for the people who are fighting for their lives and trying to get the fires under control. 

Lancers can donate clothes, food, or money, or even volunteer to help out. I have a friend in California who lives in Los Angeles, who is near the fires; she says she can smell all the smoke from her house and that it’s getting really bad. She also mentioned that she is very worried about it getting closer to where she lives. She is scared something will happen to her or the people she loves and wants that to be prevented.  

Brian Cruz (9) says he has a lot of family near the fires, which they can see from where they live.

He says he’s worried about his family, especially with him having most of his family in California. He lived in California for half of his life, which he enjoyed and loved, and he hates how fires are happening now. 

He’s worried the fires will reach his family and either of them end up getting hurt or something will happen to their houses, like losing their house or all their belongings.  

Mia Estrada (11) says her thoughts on the wildfire grew as the reports came in; she didn’t think it was real until she started paying attention to it.

 She says it’s so sad that many families lost their homes, loved ones, and their childhood places. She thought it wasn’t going to get as bad to the point where the fires would get so bad that many people had to go somewhere else to stay.  She has family in California, and she went to visit a family member who lives an hour away from the fires. She says she’s scared the fires will come closer to where she was because of how fast they are spreading. All Estrada could think about when she went to visit was their safety and the air quality.

She says the air quality was so bad that many people were wearing masks. Estrada isn’t completely sure how the fires started but says her father showed her a Facebook post and supposedly someone found the guy who started it, and it was someone who lit a firework. She thinks the fires will stop soon if it rains. There hasn’t been much rain, but she heard it rained. The only reason why it’s spreading is because it’s been windy, and the fires move fast when the wind blows. 

If she could help in any way, she would give water, food, and blankets and would give out water to the firefighters to help put the fires out and get them anything they might need. She knows if fires keep happening in California every year, it will not be good at all, and a lot more people would lose their homes and lives, which would cause many people to suffer.