As of Saturday, more than 11 people died and thousands of homes burned down from the wildfires in Southern California. Cal Poly students are feeling the devastation.
Cal Poly student, Sam Kohn, was born and raised in Santa Monica, but he would often visit the Pacific Palisades.
“I've spent my entire life there,” Kohn said.
Kohn has family in Santa Monica and says they're all safe. But the places he grew up visiting will never be the same.
“I would go to Temescal," said Kohn. "There are these beautiful hikes in the Santa Monica mountains, [like] Skull Rock. I would go with my mom and sibling all the time once a month, go with friends, and explore that area. It was around Palisades High School and that's fully gone."
Other students are also experiencing the loss of places they grew up with.
“There's plenty of places my family loved to go to and knowing that they're not there anymore is devastating,” Isabella Romero said.
“It's going to take years for it to recover but I think there's a lot of beautiful communities coming together to support it and I guess that's all we can do right now,” Kohn said.
