Native Detroiter living in California speaks on array of brush fires
(CBS DETROIT) — Multiple wildfires in California have destroyed Nearly 2,000 structures, and thousands are under evacuation orders.
The fires have a lot of people on edge, including those with ties to Metro Detroit.
"Picture that (sky) being 10 times darker. It literally was so dark, the street lights were on," Lamar Sally said.
Sally recalls what the sky in Los Angeles looked like when he first went outside on Wednesday. The Detroit native has been in California for over 20 years and says the Palisades fire is one of the worst he's seen. He lives in mid-city, about 15 miles away from the Pacific Palisades. He isn't too worried about evacuating but can still feel the fire's effect.
"For that area to catch on fire and destroy those homes, it's pretty bad; those are really nice homes up there," he told CBS News Detroit. "It's an ash type of smell; if you got asthma or anything like that, it affects you."
The flames have required help from many West Coast organizations. We talked with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and they say, they have not received a call to help yet, but are on standby.
"I don't know how the ash is going to be tomorrow, but usually when the ash starts falling, it turns your whole car black or gray," Sally explained.
Thousands of acres are now torched while at least five people have died. Dozens more have been injured.
As the fires rage on a long recovery process will soon ensue.
"It's going to be a while before it gets back to normal," Sally said.
The brush fire in the Pacific Palisades has burned over 15,000 acres, and as heavy wind continues to fuel the spread, that number could grow.
