MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Los Angeles is waking up to a reprieve. Those Santa Ana winds yesterday were not as bad as feared. But with schools still closed after more than a week of wildfire chaos, kids are struggling. Many have lost their homes, and they are craving stability. NPR's Jonaki Mehta has been talking with young people in LA and is with us now to tell us more. Good morning, Jonaki.
JONAKI MEHTA, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: So of course I want to hear about your conversation with the kids. But first, would you just bring us up to speed on the status of efforts to battle these wildfires?
MEHTA: Yeah. So for much of yesterday, everyone in LA was just anxiously bracing for high winds that could have fueled the fires. But things stayed relatively calm, and the good news is that the red-flag warnings that were in place yesterday have expired. Fire crews have made more progress containing two of the biggest fires - so the Palisades to the west and the Eaton to the east. And forecasters also expect some moisture in the air Friday and into the weekend, which could really help firefighters make more headway. Now, the downside is another round of fast-moving winds could be back Sunday night and last into next week. So the next couple of days are crucial, but full containment could take weeks.
MARTIN: So let's hear about your conversations with folks, especially kids. How are they managing?
MEHTA: Yeah, this has been really hard on kids, who just went through the pandemic not that long ago. It's, you know, another disruption to their education. Yesterday, I met up with 15-year-old Abel Rivera (ph). His family lost their longtime rental home in Altadena. And after evacuating, they all had to spread out in different directions. You know, some are at a temporary Airbnb. Some are with different family members. It's been really hard on Abel to be separated and to have lost almost everything.
ABEL RIVERA: Fifteen years of my life is basically gone. Everything that I've accomplished, every single medal I have, every single collection - everything I had is gone.
MEHTA: And, Michel, one of Abel's most prized medals was from when he finished running the LA Marathon last year, when he was just 14. He told me he lost his running shoes in the fire, too. And, you know, he's grateful everyone in his family made it out alive. But he told me he's really just missing the simple things right now, like hanging out with his friends at school.
MARTIN: Oh, I can imagine. But Jonaki, what about the schools in LA? Have any of them reopened since the fires began last week?
MEHTA: Yeah. So LAUSD, which is the country's second-largest public school district, reopened most of its schools on Monday, except, of course, the ones that are closest to the Palisades Fire and are, you know, still in the mandatory evacuation areas. But Abel and another student I met, Indi Rafman (ph), actually belong to Pasadena Unified School District on the east side. And school is closed for them, at least through the end of this week. Here's what 12-year-old Indi told me.
INDI RAFMAN: I'm missing routine, to be honest. I'm supposed to be getting my grades up and stressing out not about this fire, instead about my grades and all that stuff. And it's confusing to my mind and my body 'cause it's unexpected.
MEHTA: Indi's family is displaced right now, like thousands of others here. Their home is still standing, but it's likely damaged, and most of the houses surrounding their block are completely gone. So yeah, she says this whole time has reminded her of the pandemic, and she cannot wait to be back at school.
MARTIN: So of course people are eager to get back to their homes and check on things. Any sense of when they will be allowed to return?
MEHTA: Yeah, it's the big question. It's hard to say. Evacuation orders are being lifted in some neighborhoods, and officials say they realize folks are keen to get back and see what's left of their homes. But they want to make sure it's safe to do that, and they keep stressing it's going to take some time.
MARTIN: NPR's Jonaki Mehta reporting from Los Angeles. Jonaki, thank you.
MEHTA: Thank you, Michel. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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