Approximately 1,500 undergraduate students at the University of Arizona are from the Los Angeles area, and many of them were affected by the wildfire disaster these past weeks.
For junior Lauren Ryan, the fires meant opening her home to extended family whose neighborhoods were evacuated. Ryan grew up in Manhattan Beach, a close-knit community just outside of L.A.
The fires started when she and her younger sister Taylor were home for winter break from the U of A. But her parents decided that they needed to go back to school when and if they received an evacuation order.
She and other L.A. students have experienced an unusual transition back to college while a natural disaster occurs in their home. Their families are undergoing change and loss, and for many students, they are processing it from hundreds of miles away.
“I grew up playing beach volleyball for 10 years, and every weekend I was in the Pacific Palisades,” Ryan said. “I’m seeing streets that I drove through every single weekend on fire through my phone.”
Ryan said the first thing she checks in the morning is the status of the fires, and that she is receiving support from friends, peers and the university.
She, like other L.A. county students, was sent a letter from the Dean of Students’ Office offering resources for mental health and information on LA evacuation shelters.
Faculty members also received a letter from the provost’s office encouraging them to be flexible and work with students independently if affected by the wildfire.
Properties damaged by the Palisades Fire are seen from a coastline perspective in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles on Jan. 17.
Chrissy Lieberman, interim dean of students at the U of A, said the school’s goal is to put resources in front of students and faculty and let them know the different services available.
The university created a wildfires support page with updated information and resources.
The Student Emergency Fund and Campus Pantry, which are two resources on the website, are individually funded and accessible to all enrolled U of A students, not just those affected by the fires.
Lieberman said she is working with approximately $40,000 in the emergency fund but expects to see a lot more in donations because of the fires.
Another one of the listed resources for students is Counseling and Psych Services.
“We’re working with their associate director to share names as we learn about people who respond to us and let us know what kind of impact they had,” Lieberman said.
She hopes to do direct outreach to these students to make sure they are supported.
“We’re trying to determine if there’s enough students who are interested to potentially create some group support,” she said.
Abby Ballas, a senior at the university, said she would like to connect with other people who have experienced loss from the fires.
Her family lives in L.A. and the Palisades, and she experienced the start of the fire and smoke.
“It smelled so bad, it was giving me massive headaches,” Ballas said. “It kind of worried my parents.”
She said she was excited to come back to school just to experience normalcy and be around students who were focused on things unrelated to the fire. But she calls her grandparents every day to check in at home and hopes to get the chance to fly back soon.
Ballas said she appreciated the school’s recognition and support, especially because she lost parts of her community that were important to her and full of memories.
“That was definitely my favorite place to be,” Ballas said.
