DENVER — On a lot in the Palisades with an unobstructed view of the Santa Monica Bay, once sat the home Richard Greifinger grew up in.
It's been in his family since his dad bought it in 1970 to raise Greifinger, his brother and his sister.
Decades later, Greifinger moved to Colorado where a week ago, he watched from afar as that home full of memories burned to the ground.
"I turn on the news," Greifinger said. "And they're mentioning an intersection, literally 200 yards from my parents house."
The home would become one of thousands destroyed in the California wildfires, still burning now.
"I tried to get a hold of my brother, who lives a mile away. I couldn't get a hold of him right away, but then I finally did, and he said yeah he was out there, and they managed to evacuate my mom safely. She's 96 she has dementia, so I don't know even know how aware she was what was going on."
Greifinger said his first thought was his mother's safety. Then came the sadness of all that was lost — from the home, to the now burned nearby elementary school he and and his siblings went to, to the pictures his dad took of them growing up.
"Just flashbacks were coming, and they're still coming now, still having all these childhood memories of the Palisades and things that I did, and that's kind of what going through. And then it would kind of latch to the present with the flames all around, and then I kind of go back into the past. It's just really hard to describe. It's more or less a roller coaster ride," Greifinger said.
Beyond his home, Greifinger described the Palisades as a small town within a big city. It's a place where he said everyone knows everybody.
Now, he compares it to a war zone.
"I think when they, when they rebuild, it will never be the same old Palisades that we remember," Greifinger said. "You know you can replace structures, but you can't replace those memories and those things in a very unique environment."
He said he's struggling with a helpless feeling right now, and though nothing is planned yet, he does want to be there with his mom and brother.
As for the home, he said his family had good insurance, but they do not think they'll rebuild a house back on their lot.
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