January 14, 2025
JAKARTA – Dozens of Indonesians currently residing in Los Angeles in the United States were impacted by wildfires that ravaged the Californian city and surrounding regions over the past week, with many losing their homes to the fires.
The Indonesian consulate general reported that at least 97 Indonesians in the greater Los Angeles area have been affected by the fires, more than half of them were those in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on Los Angeles’s west side. No fatalities among Indonesian nationals have been recorded so far.
Among the affected Indonesians is 55-year-old event organizer Endah Redjeki, whose house in Pasadena, a city in Los Angeles County, was damaged by the wildfire several days after it started on Jan. 7.
“We have lived in the house in LA since 2007, [and now] it is completely gone,” she told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
Endah, her husband and their six cats managed to evacuate to the house of their Indonesian friend the night before, on Jan. 8, following an emergency alert sent to their mobile phones about a possible wildfire.
Wildfires are a common occurrence in the western part of the US, including Los Angeles.
But the wildfires that started last week in Los Angeles are turning into one of the worst natural disasters in US history, with at least 24 people killed and thousands of houses destroyed as of Monday morning.
Read also: Los Angeles fires expand as winds forecast to pick up
Endah, who has lived in the US since 1999, did not anticipate the fire near her house to be so deadly and remained grateful that she could escape.
“I saw the wind that blew the fire over here [to Pasadena] from the Eaton Canyon, and it was a horribly strong one. I’m just thankful we’re safe, though we’ll have to start again from scratch,” she said.
She noted that the Indonesian consulate general in Los Angeles has been very helpful and added that she had been offered temporary shelter at the consulate should she need it.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Diaspora Network’s (IDN) Los Angeles branch is currently providing meals and offering shelter to affected members of the Indonesian diaspora in the areas hit by the wildfires, such as Altadena, Pasadena and Pacific Palisades.
The group is working together with other Indonesian communities like the Indonesian Women Alliance (IWA) and the First Indonesian Baptist Church in Southern California to collect donations.
“We also will hold a candlelight vigil on Sunday from 2:00 to 6:00 pm [local time] at the consulate general, where hopefully everyone from all religions can gather to pray for those impacted by the fires,” Butce Lie, president of the IDN Los Angeles branch, told the Post.
Read also: Far from Hollywood’s wealth, Los Angeles fire survivors feel forgotten
Butce was devastated to hear that at least five of his diaspora friends in the greater Los Angeles area had lost their homes to the fires.
While he was safe in the city of Alhambra, located about 14 kilometers from Los Angeles, he said he was determined to help those whose houses turned to ash to claim their insurance.
Butce also warned Indonesians who are safe to be aware of the potential dangers of the fires spreading to more areas.
“We’ve heard warnings that the fires could spread to the east, toward San Bernardino. If it does, it will be very dangerous since there are many Indonesian people there. But we’ll have to see how the disaster develops,” he said.