California fires: Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s family home was destroyed in wildfires in Los Angeles

CHICAGO (WLS) – Concern for California is growing on Thursday in view of the devastating wildfires.

From former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to a suburban actor who appears on the show “The Bear,” ABC7 has heard from people whose family and friends lost everything in the wildfires.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

Lightfoot is grateful that she has a copy of her aunt and uncle’s wedding photo because she says her aunt and uncle lost everything in the California wildfires.

“There’s literally nothing left of her house,” Lightfoot said. “They have lived there for decades. I was just there in October and visited her.”

Lightfoot told ABC7 that her relatives, who are in their 90s, quickly left their home of more than sixty years in Altadena with only the clothes on their backs.

“I’m still coming to terms with the magnitude of this loss,” Lightfoot said. “My aunt and uncle are in their 90s, they won’t rebuild.”

READ MORE | Fire burns near Mountain Wilson in Angeles National Forest; The death toll in California is expected to rise

Actor Chris Witaske was born and raised in Saint Charles, Illinois, but has lived in Los Angeles for 10 years. The actor, known for his role as Pete in The Bear, says he is ready to leave if necessary.

“I have friends who lost their homes in Altadena and people are being evacuated everywhere,” Witaske said. “It’s just really scary. It’s devastating.”

Cameron Petrusevski of Orland Park shared photos of the fires with ABC7. He is a graduate student at UCLA. He said classes are canceled or online and he has a bag ready in case he needs to evacuate.

“You could just see all the smoke and the plume rising,” Petrusevski said. “You could see the different colors, like it was really dark but orange and red. It was just really weird to see…Just watching it in real time, you can see the destruction and how really sad it was.”

SEE ALSO | Fires in California: Residents of the Chicago metropolitan area are caught in the crossfire of the fires in Los Angeles

Dan Tarpey is a Chicago native living in Los Angeles. On Thursday he is preparing to take in an evacuated family. Even 25 miles from the Hermosa Beach fires, he is feeling the effects.

“It literally felt apocalyptic,” Tarpey said. “I woke up at 1:30am yesterday morning with a cough. I was surprised that my smoke alarm didn’t go off. My master bedroom was full of smoke and my bed sheets had soot all over my floor.”

In the coming days, some Chicagoans continue to look for ways to help those most affected by the fire.

RELATED | California Fires: Ways to Help Those Affected by Several Growing Wildfires