Danielle Lovell is a former Batavia resident living in Los Angeles. She and her family have been displaced by the fires raging in and around the city. Below is an update in her own words.
The past 72 hours have been a harrowing ordeal. Unexplainable fires have swept through my community, forcing friends to flee with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. In just the last 24 hours, I’ve been evacuated, returned home, and received yet another evacuation warning. To make matters worse, false alarms sent to our cell phones have caused heightened anxiety, leaving us in a constant state of vigilance, wondering what might come next.
Due to apparent issues with the alert system, I now rely heavily on the news to stay informed. While a distraction, like watching a movie, might provide temporary relief, staying updated is necessary. The air is thick with smoke, making each breath feel like scraping sandpaper against my throat and nose. Even indoors, the environmental toll is evident—dirt and soot wash away whenever I use the sink or shower.
Initially, I planned to volunteer at my local school to distribute supplies, but the growing danger kept me at home. Reports of arson in the neighborhood and needing to care for my pets have made leaving seem unwise. Fear has become a constant companion, compounded by the looting that’s taking place—an appalling exploitation of an already dire situation.
For now, my belongings remain packed, ready for another potential evacuation. I stay indoors, doing my best to eat, rest, and stay connected with family and friends through social media. Seeing the heartbreaking images of destruction flood in is overwhelming, especially when I feel so helpless to assist.
Schools remain closed, with no clear timeline for reopening. The forecast predicts more wind, though not as severe as earlier this week. Life feels like a relentless cycle of uncertainty—a game of hurry up and wait. The sound of helicopters and fire engines racing back and forth constantly reminds us of the precarious situation we’re in. I can only wonder what tomorrow will bring.
The view of smoke and fire in Los Angeles on Tuesday from a dorm room at UCLA, taken by Aidan Walsh, son of former Batavia resident Danielle Lovell.
Danielle Lovell, Aidan Walsh, and Scot Walsh, Submitted photo
When the Sunset Fire started to bear down on her Hollywood neighborhood on Wednesday evening, and the order to evacuate came, Danielle Lovell reminded herself to breathe.
She'd been through this before. In 2005, she and her family evacuated their home as Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans.
"I think the biggest takeaway (from Katrina) was -- and even last night -- just reminding myself to breathe and to stay calm," Lovell told The Batavian on Thursday. "You do not want to panic because you are in such a hurry, but breathe and stay calm. Getting out is the most important thing. Everything else is replaceable, and it'll be okay. As long as you're alive, it'll be okay."
Lovell grew up in Batavia and is a 1995 graduate of Batavia High School.
She and her partner, Scot Walsh, from Rochester, and their son Aidan moved to Los Angeles 16 years ago after a sojourn back in Western New York following Katrina.
Aidan was four months old when Lovell and Walsh had to leave New Orleans. They lived in the Garden District of the French Quarter.
When they heard news reports of Katrina heading toward the Crescent City, they got ready to leave but the evacuation order came a bit late, she said.
"We were trapped on the highway for a bit, but we were able to get out to just outside the city, which was at least safer than the fishbowl of New Orleans," Lovell said. "Within two or three days, we realized New Orleans was devastated. We couldn't go back. Then we drove the rest of the way, stopping in Tennessee and then to New York. We were in New York for about eight months or so and then got the offer to move out here to L.A."
Lovell is a special education teacher, Walsh is an operations manager at a nightclub, and Aidan attends UCLA.
Over the past 72 hours, at least five major fires have erupted in the Los Angeles area, claiming at least five lives and destroying hundreds of homes. The worst is perhaps the Palisades Fire, wrecking havoc and horror along the Pacific Coast Highway in the area of Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Santa Monica. The Eaton Fire started in the San Gabriel Mountains and has forced evacuations in La Canada Flintridge, Arcadia, Altadena, Pasadena, and Monrovia. The Hurst Fire struck Slymar in the San Fernando Valley, and the Lidia Fire broke out in the rural mountains north of Downtown LA.
The Sunset Fire, which forced Lovell and Walsh to evacuate their home, started in the Hollywood Hills and required evacuations in Hollywood, West Hollywood, Studio City, and Beverly Hills. So far, 43 acres have been burned.
Lovell said she's grateful for the local news outlets because that is how she first learned of the Sunset Fire.
"Thank God for you guys because that's what alerted me to this new fire," Lovell said. "Before anything happened, I walked out my door, saw the fire, and started knocking on my neighbors’ doors. I live in a little community, and then I just knocked on the doors. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew what to prepare for, because, unfortunately, I'd already done it before."
Her pets are Luna, a white Chihuahua, and Lux, a black cat. They're both safe, though Lux was a challenge to find in the house during the commotion of evacuation.
"They're just both really mad at me right now," Lovell said.
Her home is still standing and the evacuation order has been lifted. She plans to return to her home today to check on it and repack and reorganize.
"Our fire started and spread so quickly that we didn't have time, you didn't have time to think you just literally got your pets, your medicine, and you threw it in the car," she said. "I got my laptop, and I left."
She isn't sticking around when she goes back today. She's worried about flare-ups, the potential for new fires, and the air quality.
"It's like a snow day of soot here," she said.
She wants to check on her house and her neighbors because of the potential for looting. Nearly all of her losses following Katrina were from looters, she said. Reports indicate that in the LA area so far at least 20 looters have been arrested."
"They should be arrested. That's not okay," she said. "That makes me very, very angry. I get very protective of my people, and that makes me very, very angry that people would even consider doing that, taking advantage of such a horrible situation. It's sickening, honestly."
Lovell is staying with friends, Scot is with friends, and so is Aidan. UCLA hasn't been evacuated but classes were canceled.
Priorities are important in the face of imminent disaster, Lovell said.
"When you leave, when you evacuate, you grab your pets, you grab medicines for those pets, medicines for yourself; if you can find your important documents, cool," Lovell said. "If you can't, they're replaceable. Everything is replaceable. Your lives are not. Your health can be damaged forever. Just get out."
She also advises, "Keep an eye on the news."
That's what her sisters did for her while she was evacuating. They are in New Mexico, Rochester, and San Diego. They used Facetime to pass along information to Lovell.
"I'm driving to evacuate, and I don't know what's going on in my neighborhood at that point because I can't be watching anything," Lovell said. "They were on Facetime with me, keeping me updated on the status of the fire."
Lovell's friends and family have been an amazing source of support, she said.
"I want to thank everybody for their love and support," Lovell said. "I think something to realize is that I'm here, but my family's affected back East. They're worried about me. I have family all over the country; they're all worried. This is an isolated area where it's happening, but these disasters are so wide-reaching. It's so important to just stay connected, and I want them to know I'm safe. Scot is safe. Aidan is safe."
