Artist creates memories for L.A.-area wildfire victims who lost their homes: "We'll have this forever"
Recovery has been slow since wildfires devastated the Los Angeles area earlier this year. Most of the areas impacted still look much like they did in the immediate aftermath of the fires.
According to Cal Fire, the Eaton and Palisades fires are two of California's most destructive wildfires ever, with the 2018 Camp Fire topping the list. Combined, the two fires burned more than 37,000 acres and over 16,000 structures.
Earlier this month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency in an effort to speed up assistance for wildfire prevention projects ahead of wildfire season's peak. This year, more than 58,000 acres have burned from 545 wildfires, according to Cal Fire.
Even though some structures are gone, there remains a passion to preserve memories. Asher Bingham is using her artistic talents to create invaluable mementos for victims.
The night the fires began, Bingham received an urgent text message from her friend, Charlie Britz, who was getting married in Las Vegas.
"She's like, 'I think you're the closest one of our friends to my house in Altadena. Can you please go get my cats?' We got her cats out of there. The next morning, I woke up to a text that just showed the rubble of her house and she's like we lost it in the middle of the night," Bingham said.
At a loss for words, Bingham went to her comfort zone.
"I've been drawing my entire life. I love art and I've always had a pencil or pen in hand," she said. "I sent her a text. I was like, 'I hope this is OK. I just sat down and drew your house as I remembered it and I'd love to give this to you as a gift.'"
Bingham's photo is the only thing Britz has left of her home. She's thankful for her friend's kindness and love.
"It's better than anything I could have salvaged because anything I could have found would've been part of fire damage, and this is something that comes only from a place of love and has no bad history whatsoever," Charlie said.
Creating memories for wildfire victims
Bingham posted her drawing on social media as well, asking anyone who had lost a home to the fires if they would like one. She was then inundated with messages.
What Bingham didn't expect though, were the stories that would come along with the requests.
"I knew that this person had just given birth three days before and they lost their house. I knew that this was a couple's first home purchase and they bought it last year," she said, adding that she felt enormous pressure. "I don't want to misrepresent someone's memory."
Bingham draws the homes using either pictures given to her or by finding street views online. Each piece takes between a half hour to an hour and a half to complete. With more than 12,000 homes lost to the fires, the requests haven't stopped.
Help from across the country
Bingham, a TV editor, isn't working much these days, but she said the drawings keep her busy. She does not accept payment for them, but with 1,500 requests and counting, she says the work is too much for one person.
"I just happened to be watching the news and Asher popped up and so I sent her a message saying, 'Hey, I don't need a home drawn, but I can draw homes,'" said Carolyn Stich.
Stich, who lives in Holland, Michigan, is one of the 17 artists from all over the country who are contributing their skills.
"I love drawing these homes knowing, or hoping what they mean to people," she said. One of the homes Stich was asked to draw belonged to Melanie Goldberger. She lived in her home in the Palisades for 20 years.
"I was pregnant with my daughter, Sydney, when we moved in," Goldberger said. She has the photo of their old home now hanging in the house her family currently rents.
"It's the only thing I've hung up in this house. I love it," she said.
Goldberger said she's grateful for the gift, given by the time and efforts of a complete stranger.
"We thought we would have our home forever, but we'll have this forever," she said.
