LMAO MY THOUGHTS TOO. It isn't my story to tell but PLEASE. PLEASE. SOMEONE. THE BUS.

Thank you, Mads. It was the first place that felt like home in years. We had wild parrots overhead and I loved going to the local shops for things like fresh pasta for dinner. I'm devastated.

Thank you, Chris. <3 I hope you're doing well these days.

Renter, which I think is fortunate considering stories I've been hearing from home owners, but I loved it so much that I was hoping to buy a home there in a few years if I could sock enough money away.

I've truly been humbled by the graciousness, kindness, and love from so many people both in my own #gamedev community as well as friends who are already trying to build spreadsheets and lists of essentials for my cat, Leia.

Thank you for everything, and stay safe. ❤️‍🩹

I know times are so hard right now. Grocery prices alone have been a strain on everyone's finances. So whether you can donate $1, $20, $100, or nothing but a repost, it means the world to me.

So after much urging, I've put together a GoFundMe. I've never done this before, and hopefully never will again, but I am in a unique position of having just moved twice: once across the country in 2022 and again in late November 2024, as mentioned.

So I'm here asking for your help.

I have some insurance but it won't be enough to rebuild my life, especially with the prediction of rising costs in 2025. LA landlords are already raising rents by the 10% max to capitalize on the thousands displaced. I've put in an application to FEMA, but the future is deeply uncertain for me.

By 5AM, I got the notice that the house had burnt to the ground.

There is nothing to describe the amount of pain that I have felt this week. Immediate reaction? Numbness, panic. I've lived through a lot of traumatic events in my life, but nothing has prepared me for this.

I started to cry, just knowing in my soul this was the last time I'd see my beautiful home. I had just finished decorating my living room that week... everything had begun to feel like "home" again.

In the dark, I hurriedly packed underwear, a set of pajamas, my grandmother's ashes, the only portrait taken of her, my family photos, and the box full of my birth certificate and taxes.

When the front door opened, the air was black. I could barely see in front of me.

I had barely gotten my suitcase out of the closet when my phone lit up with an evacuation notice. We were told to leave immediately. Not a Set notice, an immediate Go notice. We had never even received a Set notice.

By now, the winds were gusting at 60-100MPH, which carried embers for miles. Fortunately, the air around south Altadena were thick and clouded with smoke, but our air was clear.

How quickly things changed. At 3AM, I began smelling smoke in my bedroom and decided to pack a bag "just in case."

Initially, this was uncomfortable, but not immediately concerning. After all, it was miles away, and I've lived in LA for years and seen massive fires burning on mountains in the distance. Naive in retrospect.

Flying debris hit the house and windows all night, making it difficult to sleep. By 6:40 PM Tuesday, I started to notice the night sky outside our front window was glowing orange. By 9:00PM the ominous glow had exploded into a full-on wildfire outside the kitchen window.

After all, Santa Ana winds had always been a moderate inconvenience for my sinuses, but nothing more.

Around 4:30 AM Tuesday, we began experiencing power outages and extremely strong winds. If you've ever lived through a hurricane, imagine the wind without the rain.

On Monday afternoon, LA was informed that we were going to be hit with "strong winds" and there was a high chance of wildfires. I let my studio know that I may be without power over the next few days but would be online by Thursday or Friday at the latest.

Thank you so much, Ariana. 😭