THE Eaton and palisades Fire Erases whole communitieshas destroyed thousands of houses and left more than two dozen dead. They also brought another blow to the region's bookstores, which were still in shock from the effects of COVVI-19 locking and the Hollywood double strikes from last year. Fortunately, all bookstores in the region – some dangerously close to fires – are still standing, and for many customers, the quiet impulse to buy a book has taken up a new emergency. While the region slowly begins to engage in the reconstruction process, neighborhood bookstores have become tiny light tags, attracting Angelenos in search of comfort and consolation. The local bookstore has transformed into a vital “third place” of social interaction, crucial for the survival of communities ravaged by county fires.
For Peter Wannier, who has an independent bookstore Flintridge bookstoreThe late Eaton which ravaged Altadena – a few minutes by car from the Cañada Flintridge – arrested his cold business. “We have certainly lost a week of activity,” explains Wannier, whose store was canceled in a compulsory evacuation order and lost power for five days. “Our accountant could not return home, who was in the fire zone. We all know people who have lost their house. ”
And yet, in the days and weeks that followed, Wannier saw the store return slowly to life. Instead of the usual transactional bustle, the Flintridge bookstore has become a gathering place so that people share their stories, exchange grievances and compared with Wannier staff, many of whom have been working in the store for a decade or more. “Our sales staff have been with us for a long time, and people want to see familiar faces at the moment,” he said. “A few days after the start of the fires, one of our regulars came and spoke for an hour of his situation. Customers come to see us because we have known it for years. We are more than booksellers. We are old friends. “
Vromoman bookstoreA Pasadena match for over a century, has seen many store employees moved by Eaton fire. Some of them have lost their house. “We closed the first two days of the fire because the situation was so precarious,” said Julia Cowlishaw, Managing Director of Vroman. When Vroman reopened on January 10, “we were so happy to see ourselves. And our customers started to come back. We knew that people needed a refuge and that we could be this place for some. ”
While the pedestrian traffic of Vromoman resumed slowly, Cowlishaw and his team launched themselves into the mode of mobilization, doing everything they could to help repress the flavored nerves of their neighborhood. “We have a long heritage here to restore this community, which has been with us for so long,” says Cowlishaw. She encouraged customers to use the store as a safe space for their families, increasing the number of times in the history of children per week as well as for the organization of craft sessions. Vroman's has also exploited its long -standing alliances with schools and non -profit organizations in Pasadena, by rising an initiative to donate books in progress for children's books for Altadena and by conducting food collection in conjunction with friends of the act, a non -profit organization that provides food, shelter, housing and prevention of evolution for the community. The store also donated books and art equipment for children in evacuation shelters.
Like Vroman, Brentwood Diesel bookstore found itself close to the danger while the fire of the palisades threatened to engulf the neighboring communities. “The first night of fires, there was a Brentwood Homeowners meeting meeting. And everyone was afraid of the fire that crosses 405, “said Diesel owner Richard Turner, who bought the store last year from Los Angeles John Evans and Alison Reid. “Fortunately, this did not happen, but it is difficult to say how our customers have disappeared forever.” The store was unusually silent in the weeks following the fires; It is only now that business has started to resume. “It's charming and sad, seeing people get into the store to tell their stories and compatrians,” explains Turner.
The home of the employee of the Diesel Liz Lee bookstore is no longer habitable after the palisades fire.
(Liz lee)
Director of retirement advertising who is new in the book sector, Turner has been encouraged to see Diesel becoming “a touches from the important community” following fire storms. “I didn't expect it right now,” he says. One of Turner's employees, Liz Lee, found himself in the evacuation limbo, not knowing if his residence Palisades was still standing. After weeks of uncertainty, Lee finally learned that the house, although intact, was no longer habitable. Turner launched a GoFundme page to help Lee find a new house and replace his property. “She managed to get her laptop and other items, but we're going to put LIZ on foot,” said Turner.
In addition to many GoFundme campaigns sponsored by booksellers, there have been small and important acts of kindness along the way. At Diesel, an anonymous donor bought a gift card for $ 1,000, with the directive to give a book to any child who asked for one. At Vroman, customers buy books for friends and a family who may have lost personal libraries acquired during a lifetime.
“People need shelter, they need necessities. I know that a book is not at the same level as these things, ”explains Veronica Bane, young adult author and English teacher. “But I also know that for me and my students, books can be what makes you spend a dark period.”
(Jessie Felix photography)
School libraries have also been decimated. Several educational establishments have been destroyed by fires, many of which rely on independent bookstores to provide them with reading equipment required for their autumn and spring semesters. Stores such as Diesel and Vroman have launched readers of school books in conjunction with Los Angeles Wildfires Book Drive, the idea of Veronica Bane, a young adult author and English teacher at Alliance Susan & Eric Smidt Technology in Lincoln Heights.
Bane was moved to act when she heard the heartbreaking stories of families who had lost their house in the Eaton fire, including the parents and children of her school. “Like so many people, I watched all these devastation occur around me, scrolling through the Watch Duty application on my phone, and my husband and I decided to help provide necessities to fire victims,” said Bane. As an author with deep ties with the local literary community, Bane realized that it could help replace some of the library books burned in fires. “I sent a Google form For requests, saying simply: “If you have books to give, please contact.” Bane quickly had hundreds of offers near and far, including Australia. The authors, influencers and publishing houses have also signed to make a donation.
“I knew that, despite the loss of their schools, the teachers would teach students a building early,” she said. “And that's what happened. But they still needed books. So I brought a few boxes to some makeshift schools. ” Since then, Bane has crisscrossed the, offering boxes of books organized for educators. During a recent event at Black Cat Fables in Monrovia, Bane gave more than 5,000 volumes given.
“People need shelter, they need necessities. I know that a book is not at the same level as these things, ”she says. “But I also know that for me and my students, books can be what makes you spend a dark period. I cannot replace a classroom, but I can show families and educators that the community cares, and I hope it offers a little comfort. ”
