A retired Pittsburgh Police officer and his family are among the thousands who’ve lost nearly everything in the devastating wildfires tearing through California.
Jeff Garris, his wife, and their child who has disabilities had recently moved to the Pacific Palisades, in an effort to be closer to their older son.
“We made the decision to start over, and now we’re really starting over, from scratch,” Garris told Channel 11 via a Zoom interview.
The family had been staying at a relative’s mobile home when they were ordered to evacuate earlier in the week.
“We just thought we were evacuating like so many people do, all of the time for the wildfires that they’re able to control,” he said. “This was just uncontrollable.”
They returned to find the neighborhood entirely devastated.
“Was just really looking forward to the job search and finding my new career path out there,” he said. “That changed in a minute.”
As part of his prior career, Garris served the Pittsburgh community for more than three decades, spending many of those years on SWAT scenes.
He’s no stranger to tragedy.
“I’ve seen loss and devastation of great magnitude. I was involved in the Tree of Life... There’s scars that will never leave my head,” he said. “I’ve never seen this much damage and destruction, up close and personal like this. It’s mind-boggling that there is literally nothing left. It’s just twisted metal and ash.”
Garris doesn’t like to ask for help, but he feels thankful for the online fundraiser that his brother launched, which you can contribute to here: Click here for the GoFundMe.
Garris stressed to Channel 11 that his story is one of many, and he hopes to raise awareness for everyone who is in need.
“The shock’s wearing off now and people are just coming to the realization of... You’ve gotta lean into this problem and move on. What other choice do we have?”
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