On Jan. 7, 2025, the California wildfires began. Powerful winds and dry conditions elevated the fires, leading to 28 known deaths, the destruction of nearly 16,260 structures and the evacuation of tens of thousands of people, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Though the fire is over 1,500 miles away, Doane University has been affected due to many students being from California. Devin Avedissian, a junior involved in wrestling, student government, Delta Kappa Pi fraternity and other activities, is from Temecula, California.
“Some of my aunts and uncles and friends that went to college around the fire areas were on evacuation watches and without power for a few days,” Avedissian said
Avedissian also highlighted the efforts of his uncle, who is “a firefighter and has been actively on the front lines helping coordinate and plan search and rescues and fire prevention.” Throughout the fires, Avedissian has received messages from others checking on his family’s safety. These gestures made him realize how close Doane is as a community.
“Thank you to everyone at Doane for your concern, as there are definitely people out there that see your effort and support and quietly appreciate it more than you can imagine,” Avedissian said.
Another student impacted by the fires is Connie Jarm, a freshman on the Women’s Golf team. From Monterey Park, California, located 20 minutes from Los Angeles, Jarm was in California when the fires broke out. She reported “having to stay indoors because the air quality was bad.” Throughout the month, the air in the area has been very poor, according to AccuWeather. Though Jarm didn’t have to evacuate, “a couple of friends had to evacuate.” Jarm was very worried about their safety. Fortunately, the fires did not get close to where she lived, and her family remained safe.
