11 January 2025 – Los Angeles (California) resident and photographer Nabil Samadani captures the aftermath of the Palisades and Eaton wildfires in the neighborhood of Altadena. In this series of photos, Samadani reflects on the experience of witnessing the destruction first hand. “The experience of living in LA this past week has been quite surreal: a lot of time spent on your phone, watching the immediate world around you burn, but then seeing the same disaster that’s on your phone, off in the distance out of your kitchen window.”
The man portrayed had just lost his home.
“He stood with a hose and silenced the smoke clouds that were still rising from parts of his now bygone home. It was hard to find the words to say to someone in his situation.”
Despite his grief and loss, the man offered the photographer food from a donation box, “… it was stirring to have someone who had just lost everything, offer anything to you.”
As winds reach dangerous heights, the fires rage on, leaving a devastating reality in their path. The resulting destruction raises critical questions about the future of these communities: who will be able to return to the neighborhood and rebuild, and who will be pushed out forever? After days without power and rapid evacuation orders, how will the fear of future disasters affect the city’s residents? Who will return and who will seek refuge elsewhere?
