Fires in Los Angeles: for writer Amanda Sthers, “it’s a part of life that disappears”

“I have already experienced fires several times in Los Angeles, I have even been evacuated, but what is happening now is beyond compare. » Contacted by Le Parisien, the writer Amanda Sthers, who has lived in Los Angeles for 10 years but is currently staying in Paris for the release of her new novel “Les Gestes” (Stock), has difficulty hiding her emotion: “It’s a tragedy. A combination of circumstances, such strong winds, a year without water… Global warming is causing more and more natural disasters. »

For now, his house in Hollywood has been spared. “What protects me is Route 101, a sort of ring road around LA, because it acts as a barrier. But if the fire crosses this highway, it will be catastrophic, indicates the French author. Friends came to take refuge at my house but they were evacuated as a precaution last night. However, I live a 40 minute drive from Pacific Palisades. This demonstrates the violence of the fires.”

“We imagine that the house burned down…”

On the other hand, the news is more distressing for her ex-husband Patrick Bruel, father of her two boys, Oscar and Léon. “Our children are safe but Patrick’s house is in the heart of Pacific Palisades. We have no formal news because the entire area has been evacuated. But, seeing the images of what now looks like a war zone, we imagine that the house burned down…”.

“There are hundreds of thousands of people who have lost valuable but irreplaceable objects because they witnessed so many strong moments. Their sentimental value is inestimable because they are linked to memories and places.”

Despite a busy schedule (meetings in bookstores, with the press, etc.), the novelist remains “suspended on the news”. “What is also very violent and very painful is receiving photos of places where we went, parks, restaurants, and seeing that everything has burned. It’s a part of life that disappears. »

Amanda Sthers is expected to return home in early February. “It’s strange because in those moments, you should be happy not to be there. But it’s also so hard to be far away…”