'Ring of fire': Nova Scotians in L.A. speak about living through historic fires

As firefighters and first responders tackle historic fires bearing down on Los Angeles, people with connections to Nova Scotia are speaking out about the experience of living around the blazes.

As of Friday afternoon, the death toll from the fires had risen to 10 people. More than 10,000 homes and other structures have burned since Tuesday in a densely populated area just north of downtown Los Angeles.

One of those with connections to Nova Scotia is actor and This Hour Has 22 Minutes alum Shaun Majumder, who now lives in the Los Feliz neighbourhood of L.A. Before Christmas, he told Mainstreet's Jeff Douglas he and his family were in the midst of a permanent move to Nova Scotia.

On Thursday, Majumder told CBC that he and his family were thankfully not in the middle of any "flame action" or in immediate danger. But they were in between two fires that are still burning.

Wildfires 'an inferno,' says Canadian actor Shaun Majumder from L.A. home | Canada Tonight

2 days ago

Duration 12:42

Deadly and destructive wildfires are tearing through the Los Angeles area, fanned by powerful winds. Canadian actor and comedian Shaun Majumder says his house was not affected; however, he does not have power and his family could feel the strong winds.

"The air quality is terrible," Majumder said, describing a darkened neighbourhood with downed power lines.

"This is definitely something that's very different than anything I've experienced before," he said. "There's like a ring of fire around this area."

Ben Proudfoot, an Academy Award-winning filmmaker from Nova Scotia, is also in the Los Feliz area. He said he was able to see downed trees through his window and was surrounded by the smell of smoke.

"It's kind of a ghost town," Proudfoot said. "It's difficult to tell the scale and impact of a disaster from far away. But being here, this is significant. Everybody in the city is affected one way or another."

He said he's providing shelter to friends who had to evacuate due to one of the fires near Altadena.

Proudfoot said he hasn't yet gotten an evacuation order.

He also said he's been reflecting on what's important in the midst of the fires.

"You realize that no sort of possession matters that much, that as long as you're OK and the people you love are OK," Proudfoot said.

A bit north of L.A. in Burbank, former Haligonian Shahin Sayadi said he and his family were ready to leave if necessary. He said his city is bounded on either side by the large fire near Malibu and the smaller one affecting Altadena.

"When this whole thing started, it was a very gusty wind … then all of a sudden, we heard [about] a small fire that broke out into a big fire in Palisades, then into Malibu," he said.

Some of the media coverage of the fires has focused on the number of celebrities' homes that have been destroyed, including property owned by Jeff Bridges, Mandy Moore and Paris Hilton.

Sayadi said, however, "A lot of middle-class and working-class people live in those areas, and they've been affected. We're talking about a lot of ordinary people."

WATCH | Ben Proudfoot's interview with Amy Smith:

Halifax filmmaker impacted by LA wildfires

2 hours ago

Duration 4:37

Academy Award winner Ben Proudfoot says 15 to 20 per cent of his staff at Breakwater Studios have had to flee their homes. Watch his interview with Amy Smith.