One year after wildfires fueled by hurricane-force winds roared through Los Angeles County, killing 31 people and destroying thousands of homes, survivors are still absorbing the impact. Many are members of the music industry, creatives who were drawn to the rugged beauty of the tight-knit communities on the edges of the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains.
Dawes Enlist Brad Paisley, Brandon Flowers, More for L.A. Fires Anniversary Benefit
While last year’s Jan. 7 fires have largely faded from national headlines, the historic disasters remain an inescapable part of daily life for many victims. Rolling Stone spoke with10 survivors as they continue to navigate different stages of recovery in hard-hit Altadena and the Pacific Palisades. They describe a mix of gratitude for the support they received, weariness over the uneven work of rebuilding, and hope. These are their stories:
Griffin Goldsmith, 35, Dawes Drummer, Altadena
The last thing I want people to do is feel bad for me. There’s no reason to feel bad: My life has been amazing. I had a kid two weeks after the fire, and it just felt like I didn’t know how to reintegrate music in my life. And even though it was only two months until it did and we started doing shows again, it felt like an eternity. So that really was the catharsis, getting back on tour and doing what we know how to do…