‘With Us” Art Exhibition Honors L.A. Wildfire Survivors and Highlights Ongoing Recovery Struggles
A new immersive art exhibition commemorates the one-year anniversary of the Los Angeles wildfires by inviting visitors to walk alongside fire survivors and experience their stories through interactive art, music and video.
The installation, “With Us: Walk With Fire Survivors Through Sight, Sound, and Story,” opened Sunday in downtown L.A. to provide a supportive place for remembrance and healing, while connecting survivors to crucial resources like mental health services and help with insurance claims.
Visitors move through a maze that includes paintings, photographs and video. At the center stands a circular space that features audio of fire survivors describing their recovery journeys in their own words. Guests are invited to sit down, close their eyes and listen.
One survivor’s voice came over the speaker: “I imagined coming back, that it would be like piecing through things that we had like photos and books and my great grandfather’s desk. It wasn’t like that at all. There’s just nothing. There was barely any proof at all that we had even lived there.”
Another voice said: “I haven’t slept well in the last nine months. The stress has been tremendous.”
The installation opening was hosted by the Department of Angels and Extreme Weather Survivors. Local organizations were also on hand to offer assistance and guidance to those impacted by the fires.
One year after the fires, recovery is still unfolding for families across Los Angeles County, said California Community Foundation President and CEO Miguel A. Santana.
“‘With Us’ exists because survivors told us they don’t want sympathy – they want solidarity. This experience asks us to slow down, listen, and recommit for the long haul,” Santana said.
CCF co-founded the Department of Angels with Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel last year to center survivors’ voices and built it around a simple belief: recovery must be led by the people most impacted.
The Pacific Palisades home where Spiegel grew up and where he started his tech company was lost in the fires, he said.
“I remember watching it burn and feeling that helplessness, the moment you realize you can’t reason with fire or ask it to stop,” Spiegel said. “You can only love the people around you and decide what you’re going to do next. This anniversary is very far from the finish line. It’s merely a signpost. It says we’ve made it this far, and it asks: how will we move forward from here?”
A year later, too many people are still not home and too many are still waiting for resources, for clear answers and for a path forward, Spiegel said.
“The most important thing we can do today is refuse the quiet drift into forgetting. So here’s what I’m asking, in the spirit of this event’s name: be with us in remembrance, especially of those who lost their lives. Say the names, hold the stories, and honor what was lost,” he said.
A new Department of Angels’ LA Fire Recovery Report surveyed more than 2,400 survivors and revealed a sobering picture:
- More than seven in 10 survivors are still not home.
- Nearly half have depleted their savings, and over 40 percent have taken on debt just to survive.
- More than 80 percent report worsening mental health, driven by prolonged displacement and uncertainty.
A Milken Institute report released this week found that charitable giving was estimated at almost $1 billion. Even with that incredible outpouring of support, philanthropy represents just a fraction of the actual cost to rebuild after the Eaton and Palisades fires, Santana said.
CCF has raised more than $100 million and already distributed more than $60 million to help families stabilize, navigate insurance, secure housing and begin rebuilding.
“Charitable giving was extraordinary. It was fast. It was generous. But private generosity cannot sustain long-term rebuilding on its own. At the California Community Foundation, we launched the Wildfire Recovery Fund knowing this would take years, not months,” Santana said.
Philanthropy can move quickly and stay present, but it was never meant to replace government at this scale, Santana said. The rebuilding cost gap in Los Angeles County exceeds $50 billion and that’s why at least $35 billion in sustained federal support is needed — for housing, infrastructure, environmental remediation and long-term mental health care.
Fire survivors praised the “With Us” installation for empowering them during this difficult anniversary.
“This project has been transformational for our recovery,” fire survivor Mike Cohen said. “Getting the chance to tell our story, watch our words come to life, and share our experience of grief and hope has helped us make meaning out of our loss.”
Longtime Altadena resident Sam Pace’s house was one of just a few structures on his block that still stood after the Eaton fire.
“Everybody says I was lucky because my house survived. But I don’t feel lucky. People call it survivors guilt I don’t know – it probably is,” he said.
He created his artwork “From the Ashes” with objects he found in his neighbors’ yards: a single branch, a flugelhorn and charred wood.
“Everything feels normal until you go outside, then it hits you,” Pace said. “All my landmarks are gone. Sometimes I drive right past my street.”
Pace said his roots in Altadena and Pasadena date back to 1887 and that his art piece is a tribute to the tight-knit community he lost and a symbol of what he hopes Altadena can regain.
“Altadena was like a hidden oasis for culture,” Pace says. “I can’t imagine living anywhere else and getting this same vibe. To me it was perfect, because there were artists.”
The installation continues through Jan. 7 from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily, offering more opportunities for Angelenos to stand in solidarity with survivors, learn about recovery efforts and discover ways to get involved. The installation is located at the City Market Social House, 1145 S. San Pedro St., Los Angeles, CA.
– Ben Poston