The Los Angeles wildfires have claimed several lives and destroyed thousands of homes in one of the worst disasters ever seen in California. Here, Julie Wagner, Chief Executive Officer, Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau, tells Traveltalk what it was like being in LA during the tragedy and how residents are trying to rebuild their lives.
Q: Julie, you were there during the fires and have been on the ground. Can you tell us what exactly is happening in LA right now and what the situation is?
A: I think one of the biggest misnomers around the world right now is that all of Los Angeles burned down, which is not the case at all. Los Angeles is a really, really big place.
When we were in the throes of it last week, I think most residents thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to lose my home, the whole city is going to burn down’, because there was just that level of panic in the air and everything felt so out of control.
Two beautiful neighbourhoods were just wiped off the face of the map and that really rocked everybody’s world. Looking at photos of the Palisades fire, it’s like bombs went off. There’s just nothing but rubble.
Q: Have you ever experienced anything quite so severe?
A: We had cyclone force winds, 100 mile an hour winds. I’ve never seen anything like that in Los Angeles. That’s kind of scary too, because then you’re thinking about, are these climate change situations, is this the new normal for us and is this what we need to expect?
I believe that with both of the large fires, we’re starting to get some containment now, which is important because, God forbid we lose any more lives, homes or any more businesses.
Q: How has the reaction been after the devastation?
A: The city and its communities have really come together for the victims with donations of food, clothing, blankets and animal crates. People are also donating to reputable organisations that are really going to pass that money along.
We are trying to keep all of the victims in our hearts but I hesitate when people say we will be stronger and we will rebuild. I don’t know that now is the right time to be talking about that because it’s going to take a really, really long time.
I mean, people have lost their schools, their cafes, their doctor’s offices, their grocery store; everything that they utilised on a daily basis is now gone.
Q: What’s the message you would like to give to Australians?
A: All of our attractions in Beverly Hills are still running as none of them were impacted by the fires. There’s a couple of charming restaurants in Malibu that have been there for years and years that are no longer there because Southern Malibu was affected for sure, but everything is pretty much business as usual.
Our hotels in Beverly Hills are completely functional; as a matter of fact, they housed many of the evacuees last week and continue to house evacuees and are working on ways to give back to the Los Angeles community.
Q: Clearly your presence here in these dark times shows just how important the Australian market is for Beverly Hills.
A: Absolutely. We do have a soft spot for the Aussies. You have supported us for years and years and brought so much business to us and for that we are eternally grateful.
You know, in a lot of ways, we’re very similar and it’s easy to host Australians in our market because our cultures are so similar. We love the Australian culture too and we have a lot of fun with it.
I’m glad that Australians are still excited about the U.S.. These are crazy times in the U.S. right now but I remind everybody to remember the people. It’s all about the people that live there, people that travel there and the rest of it is just white noise that we don’t have a lot of control over.
Q: Is Beverly Hills somewhere that every Australian can visit or do you have to have a very healthy bank balance to come?
A: Well, you know, it’s funny, because I think one of the takeaways that we always get when we host familiarisation trips is people don’t realise the breadth of experiences available in Beverly Hills. There really is something for every lifestyle.
If you want the $30,000 dress and the penthouse suite and the Rolls-Royce driving you around, we can do that. But if you’re there with your family and you want to go get a sprinkles cupcake out of an ATM or go to the park and swim in the pool, you can do that too.
If you want to stay in a hotel near Rodeo Drive, you can do that, but if you want to stay in a little boutique property that’s off the beaten path, you can do that too.
So yes, we do have the experiences that high net worth individuals are drawn to but we also have experiences for everyday people as well.
Q: Final question. If Australians want to help the relief efforts, what’s the best way for them to get involved?
A: The best thing to do is to go to Beverly hills.org which is the city’s website and they have a list of places to help that have been fully vetted, that are legitimate and that people can contribute to.
