LOS ANGELES — It seems like most everyone can find someone they know who has been affected by this week’s fires in Los Angeles County.
It’s no different at Q2. Two former reporters currently live about four miles from the Palisades Fire in west L.A. They’ve seen plenty of fires before, but they admit this has been a completely new - and scary - experience.
"Being four miles away and feeling what those winds were like, it was truly terrifying," said Billings native Dustin Klemann.
It’s been a long week for Klemann and his wife, Aja Goare.
"We have very tall, glass sliding doors for our patio, and when the peak winds were happening, I would watch them bow inwards into our house," Goare said.
"In Montana, we’re accustomed to high winds," Klemann added. "That’s not something that happens down here."
Those winds have fanned multiple fires across the county which have now accounted for at least 10 deaths and over 9,000 structures lost, as of Friday morning. Both Klemann and Goare know victims.
"A publisher and managing editor (I work with) lost her house in the Palisades Fire," Goare said.
"A colleague of mine, she lost her home," said Klemann. "That was in the Eaton Fire."
The images from the ground are astounding: up close and personal, very different than wildfire coverage back in the Treasure State.
"In Montana when we could cover fires, there are such big areas, and it's so vast that is would often times be inaccessible," Klemann said. "Here, it’s on every street."
"Before moving to California, I'd never been that close to a fire," Goare added. "But then it kinda became part of the coverage."
Both have experience with urban wildfires. After leaving Q2, they worked for sister station KSBY in San Luis Obispo, California. A month after arriving, the Holiday Fire broke out in nearby Goleta. It burned just 113 acres but destroyed 10 homes. By comparison, last summer's Elk Fire northwest of Sheridan, Wyoming burned nearly 100,000 acres, but just two primary residences were lost.
Memories of covering the Holiday Fire have come flooding back for both over the last 72 hours, especially while watching news coverage.
"We saw a gentleman reporting, and an explosion happened at a house, and he was 50 yards away," Klemann said.
"When you’re a reporter, you don’t have as much discretion about your own safety," said Goare. "I watch this now and say, ‘How did I ever draw myself that close?’ I'm watching now and thinking you should get away from it."
They’re happy to be a little farther away now, but certainly not far enough.
