As wildfires continue to rage in Southern California this week, students, faculty, and staff expecting to start the spring semester at Emerson Los Angeles are anxiously watching the crisis unfold. 

“All of [Wednesday], it seemed like there was zero hope of this stopping,” said Charlotte Pernicone, a first year theater and performance major from Los Angeles, who lives next to Studio City. “When I [was walking] my dog, it smelled like burnt matches. It was intoxicating.”

The ELA campus remains “safe,” according to a statement sent to The Beacon Sunday morning by college spokesperson Michelle Gaseau, and the college does not “anticipate any disruption to campus operations for the upcoming semester.” The college is offering extra time for affected community members to get to campus as needed (move-in is still scheduled for Jan. 18.) and will offer remote orientation and online classes during the first week.

The update comes after Los Angeles leadership “preemptively” evacuated the building the evening of Jan. 8 due to the proximity of the Sunset Fire, which forced evacuations of the Hollywood Bowl and Dolby Theatre. 

“My family and I rushed to pack everything important,” Pernicone said. “It was real to see all the videos online, but it was different when there was the possibility of it reaching where I live.”

Maya Shokrian, a freshman theatrical design and production major, lives just a couple houses away from the Studio City house fire. She had an evacuation scare after a false warning was mistakenly sent to nearly 10 million Los Angeles residents on Thursday afternoon, according to Kevin McGowan, director of the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management. 

Eli Ross, a sophmore communications major, was evacuated twice—once in the Mandeville area, and another time in Brentwood, both of which are threatened by the Palisades Fire—also received multiple false evacuation warnings. He described how he was frustrated by the notices that only added to the stress of the situation.

“Every time you hear that notification, your heart just sinks,” said Ross, “And then five minutes later, you’d get a notification [saying] ‘just kidding.’” 

The Palisades Fire began on Jan. 7 in the Pacific Palisades, a well-known coastal community east of Malibu, Calif. It has grown to more than 20,000 acres and destroyed “thousands” of structures, according to officials. The Eaton Fire followed later that night, burning nearly 14,000 acres by Thursday. The Hurst Fire erupted the evening of Jan. 8  near the Interstate 5 and 210 freeways in Sylmar, burning over 700 acres at 76% containment. The Kenneth Fire was the last to start burning on Jan. 9 , incinerating 1,000 acres in West Hills near the 101 freeway. The blazes are expected to continue to burn as strong wind gusts and continuous dry weather approach the county, according to the National Weather Service. 

“I’ve seen these places so many times,” Pernicone said. “It’s sad to see it all go.”

“Half of the city’s burning,” Ross said.

Shokrian said Los Angeles residents found humanity amongst the devastation the wildfires left, but there is still work to be done. 

 “I can see how it’s brought all these communities together but also how it’s tearing communities apart, she said. “Everything is getting so politicized in a situation that shouldn’t be politicized.”

For Ross much of his time was, and still is, spent on checking updates from the LA Fire Department, NASA satellite footage, and social media. While he misses the community back home, Ross is grateful to be back in Boston where he is able to have stability.

“I’m able to breathe a bit more, just not being in it,” Ross said, “And the air is so much nicer. It’s snowing, actual snow, not ash.”

LA felt “apocalyptic” compared to Boston, Ross said, where he’s “on Earth.”

Senior visual media arts student Bella Bowler, originally from Northern California, is spending her spring semester in Hollywood. Though she is used to wildfires as a Californian, she said she doesn’t know how to feel.

“It’s heartbreaking because we’re excited to go to LA, [have] opportunities for new things, and now we’re going to this place that has had this horrible tragedy,” Bowler said. “You don’t really know how to feel.”

She added that ELA staff sent “two to three emails” updating students during active fire warnings, advising them that despite the recent evacuation, schedules remain on track.

Casey Miller is a freshman journalism major from Glendale, just 30 minutes from the Eaton Fire. Miller described the “distinct smell” of the raining ash that was “inescapable, even if you were indoors.” From his balcony, he could see the “incinerated” Montrose suburbs on the hill. Glendale was “a ghost town.”

“In times like this, information is gold,” Miller said. He encouraged individuals outside of Los Angeles to spread information on shelters and contribute monetary donations as well as clothes, sanitary products, and canned food. The American Red Cross, World Central Kitchen, and the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation are among a plethora of organizations providing support to wildfire victims and first responders.

“There’s such a communal essence in LA with trying to get people back on their feet,” said Miller. “Hope goes a long way in times of tragedy.”