An ABC news reporter spent just one night in her “dream home” before it burned down in the devastating Los Angeles fires.
This weekend, Zohreen Shah, a Los Angeles correspondent, shared her story of loss after the Palisades Fire burned down her newly purchased home.
In a joint Instagram post with her husband Rishi Shah, she reflected on how they had closed on the coastal property less than a month ago and just moved in.
She explained that they only spent one night in their house, which they searched for six years until they finally found the ‘perfect’ one, before it burned down.
Alongside photos of their “shrine” and the ruins that remain, the reporter described the heartbreaking loss as she noted how much she had sacrificed just to save for the down payment.
She talked about how much effort she had put into achieving her “dream of having what my parents didn’t have,” because her mother and father had never owned a home.
An ABC news reporter spent just one night in her “dream home” before it burned down in the devastating Los Angeles fires. This weekend, Zohreen Shah, a Los Angeles correspondent, shared her story of loss after the Palisades Fire burned down her newly purchased home.
‘I lost my house to the fires. It’s a total loss,” she wrote in the caption of a joint Instagram post with her husband Rishi Shah, sharing photos of the ruins of what used to be their “dream home.”
She explained that she and her husband finally found the oceanfront property in November and closed it on Christmas Eve for the holidays.
They had just moved when the fire burned down their new home in the Pacific Palisades.
‘We started moving last week. Over and over I told Rishi that I couldn’t believe this shrine was ours. We spent one night there. Just one.’
She continued, “It was magical. We dreamed of retiring in that same house. Only five minutes from PCH, yet it felt like another planet.
“Deer walked up to the house, the birds sounded like a tropical island and the ocean view was a California dream,” she wrote. ‘We had peach, nectarine, lemon and avocado trees – and a small area for lettuce and strawberries, safe from wildlife.
“But it was more than that,” she added. ‘It was the culmination of Rishi’s six-year search for the perfect coastal home. He found it in November and we closed on Christmas Eve.
Alongside photos of their “shrine” and the ruins that remain, the reporter described the heartbreaking loss as she noted how much she had sacrificed to save for the down payment.
In a joint Instagram post with her husband Rishi Shah, she reflected on how they had closed on the seaside property less than a month ago and just moved in
She explained that they only spent one night in their house, which they searched for six years until they finally found the ‘perfect’ one, before it burned down.
She explained that she and her husband finally found the seaside property in November and closed it on Christmas Eve over the holidays
They had just moved when the fire burned down their new home in the Pacific Palisades. She said she was ‘so proud’ she had saved enough for the down payment after sacrificing traveling and having children
She said her friends told them they could now rebuild “the way we want,” but that the house was “already perfect” for her. Shah acknowledged they are ‘very lucky’ to be safe, but admitted they are still ‘so d*** sad’
She said she was “so proud” that she had saved enough for the down payment after sacrificing traveling and having children.
She reflected on how she worked very hard because her mother and father never had a home and she worked hard “with the dream of having what my parents didn’t have.”
‘I cook most of my meals at home, I don’t have children yet and I don’t travel for fun. As a result, over the years I have saved enough for 20% of our down payment,” she wrote. ‘I was so proud. And then – just like that – after years of working and saving, it was gone.’
She said her friends told them they could now rebuild “the way we want,” but that the house was “already perfect” for her.
Shah acknowledged that they are “very lucky” to be safe, but admitted that they are still “so incredibly sad.”
“I’m ping-ponging between feeling like a stronger, wiser version of myself and curling up into a scared, four-year-old version,” she wrote. ‘I’m scared too because this isn’t even over yet.’
She then said she had “questions and demands” as she called out insurance companies and politicians.
‘I am determined to find answers. This journey is personal. I hope that when people see me on TV or TikTok, they know they are watching someone who saw her dream home turned to rubble – and is fighting to rebuild it.”
Last Tuesday, wildfires broke out in the Pacific Palisades and quickly grew into many catastrophic fires in the greater Los Angeles area due to dangerous winds and severe drought; Pacific Palisades pictured on January 7
Exactly one week later, the fires have destroyed more than 37,000 hectares and burned down more than 12,000 buildings, as thousands of heroic firefighters continue to battle the dangerous wildfires. At least 25 people have died in the devastating fires; Pacific Palisades pictured on January 14
Wildfires broke out in the Pacific Palisades last Tuesday and quickly grew into many catastrophic fires in the greater Los Angeles area due to dangerous winds and severe drought.
Exactly one week later, the fires have destroyed more than 37,000 hectares and burned down more than 12,000 buildings, as thousands of heroic firefighters continue to battle the dangerous wildfires.
About 88,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another 84,000 people are under evacuation warnings.
At least 25 people have died in the devastating fires.
At the time of this reporting, the Palisades Fire is 18 percent contained, while the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena is 35 percent contained.