Evacuated Arcadia Unified Students Reflect on Bobcat Fire Impact Amid Pandemic

By AUSD Digital CommunicationsIntern Claire Li

“I realized I had to evacuatewhen I saw the fire coming down the mountain; every 10 minutes it just keptgetting bigger and closer,” recounted Arcadia High School junior Zoe Bui. TheBobcat Fire, currently at 62% containment and having burned approximately114,202 acres as of Sept. 29, is one of Los Angeles County’s largest recordedwildfires, second to the 2009 La Cañada Flintridge Station Fire, which burned160,000 acres. As a result of rapidly raging flames throughout the Angeles NationalForest, many Arcadia Unified School District students and families wereimpacted, two of whom were Arcadia High School students Zoe Bui and Joyce Pang.

This year, California hasexperienced a record number of wildfires, with over 4.7% of its total land burnedthus far. Since multiple large fires were burning at the same time, includingthe nearby El Dorado and Apple fires, affected areas suffered from unhealthyair quality in previous weeks, and many continue to do see smoke advisories.For days on end, Arcadia residents looked up to see gray skies with a faint,red sun shining weakly above.

While the Bobcat Fire began nearCogswell Dam in the Azusa Canyon, Arcadia residents started receivingevacuation warnings on Labor Day, Sept. 7, which came a mere 24 hours after theblaze was first reported. Throughout the week, evacuation warnings remained inplace, with a voluntary evacuation notice issued only a day after the warning.By Sunday, Sept. 13, streets north of Elkins Avenue and east of Santa Anitawere filled with the blaring reds of firetrucks and police cars, announcing theimmediate need for evacuation.

With warnings publicized a weekbefore people were evacuated from their homes, many were able to prepare fortheir leave ahead of time. “My mom told my family to start packing in case wewere going to get evacuated around Monday, Sept. 7, so I had already packedsome things and had several days to think over what I wanted to take,” sharedPang.

After receiving an alert Sundaymorning about the evacuation, Pang packed a few last-minute items, rememberingthat, “It was a bit chaotic because I kept rummaging through my room to see ifthere was anything else I had forgotten or missed.”

Thinking back, Pang said, “As Iwas packing, although I couldn’t take too much, I did find a strange solace inthe fact that all my belongings that meant the most to me could fit in a fewclustered backpacks in the corner of my room, as well as the fact that I wasn’temotionally attached to most of the items I had.”

To some, news of the evacuationswas expected; for others, however, the alert came as a surprise. While Pangsaid, “I already expected to be evacuated because the fire was getting closer, andI could see it from my house,” Bui shared, “I didn’t think I would be evacuatedat all [… and] didn’t feel scared until I saw it on the news that it was aquarter-mile away from my house.”

Forced to leave their homes, Buiand Pang not only had to adjust to a new living environment; they also had toadapt to virtual learning from their hotel rooms. “It was really hard to do my schoolworkbecause hotel WiFi isn’t the best,” Bui explained. “Thankfully, all of myteachers were really flexible and understood my situation. They told me to takemy time and that there’s no rush.” For Bui, the evacuations mostly impacted schoolwork.“I have two other brothers who also have online school, so having all of ourZoom calls at once in the same room was a nightmare.” Pang shared a similarstruggle, “My parents have meetings sometimes, and my sister and I have toattend class, so it was hard to find different areas within the hotel room towork in.”

Another major concern for Pangwas the safety of her house. “The hardest part about evacuating was not knowingwhat, if anything, would remain when we return,” Pang said. “Even if the firedidn’t reach our house, I knew the ashes from the fire could fly randomly andour house, unfortunately, is almost completely made of flammable material.”

Since many had been stayinginside due to COVID-19, Pang explained that life didn’t look much different otherthan living in a hotel room’s much smaller space. She mentioned that the fireand smoky air were new reasons to keep them indoors and remarked, “staying inthe same room for days was mentally exhausting.”

While it was difficult livingaway from home, both Bui and Pang expressed a new sense of gratitude and appreciationthat sprung from their evacuation experience. “In the past year, coronavirusshutdowns, tearing my ACL, and the recent fire evacuations have all made merealize how much we normally take for granted and how much I should be gratefulfor,” Pang reflected. Similarly, Bui noted, “My situation could’ve been muchworse, so I’m grateful and appreciative that we are all safe.”

Thinking back on the evacuations,Pang shared, “Although it wasn’t the easiest of times, I’m still incrediblygrateful that my family was safe and healthy.” Bui, having also lived in closequarters with her family, said, “Being stuck in one room added to my TikTokaddiction, but it also brought my family closer together.”

With the help of thefirefighters’ hard work and dedication, Arcadia residents were able to returnhome a few days after the evacuations. Even though the Bobcat Fire is stillburning, foothill residents are no longer placed under evacuation warnings.

Apart from a growing sense ofappreciation for local firefighters, Pang found herself increasingly gratefulfor modern-day technology. “It has allowed us to store many memories and piecesof work online on clouds, drives, and the jumbled web of the internet, wherethey can’t be burned down.”

Perhaps the most important forBui was the lesson she gained from the experience. “I’ve realized that sometimesyou will come across obstacles that will get in your way, but the best thing todo is stay positive and make the best out of it.”

For a video news segment by Arcadia High’s APN on the Bobcat Fire’s impact on Arcadia High students, click here, and for additional information on the Bobcat Fire’s impact on Arcadia, visit ArcadiaCa.gov/Bobcat. To sign up for future emergency alerts and notifications, text your zip code to 888777 to receive Nixle alerts or sign-up for alerts at ArcadiaCA.gov/Alert.

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