Early numbers from AccuWeather estimates the total damage and economic loss is $135-$150 billion.
There’s a GoFundMe directory circulating for Black families who have been impacted by the massive wildfires in Los Angeles communities. Thousands of residents have evacuated as the wildfires wreak havoc in communities such as the Black suburb of Altadena.
Black families started to settle in Altadena during the Great Migration in the 1930s. However, Black homeowners didn’t obtain mortgages until the 1960s. Many Black families have kept these homes in a community, that was once exempt from redlining policies, for generations. According to NBC Los Angeles, the Black home ownership rate in the area is at 81.5%. The figure is almost double the national rate.
Black Families in L.A. Mourn Lost Homes Amid Wildfire Outbreak
“The Heidelbergs have lived in Altadena for 38 years and tragically lost their home, with everything inside it, in the recent Los Angles fire,” a GoFundMe reads that was set up Varetta Heidelberg and her husband, Levi Heidelberg. “The funds will be used for paying off their mortgage (to a house that is no longer there), for any expenses as a result of the fire and to buy essentials to rebuild their lives.”…