Podcast Summary: "My Story about the Palisades Fire"

Podcast: Real Talk: Real Estate Discussions with Andrew Kirsh
Episode: My Story about the Palisades Fire by Andrew Kirsh, interviewed by Gidi Cohen
Date: March 24, 2025
Host: Andrew Kirsh (Guest in this episode)
Interviewer: Gidi Cohen

Episode Overview

This deeply personal episode departs from the usual Real Talk real estate industry interviews. In the wake of the devastating January 2025 Palisades Fire, Andrew Kirsh—normally the host—shares his own family’s experience as the guest, interviewed by friend Gidi Cohen. The conversation focuses on the emotional, logistical, and communal upheaval faced after losing a home, a school, and a way of life, while also touching on the decisions, challenges, and unexpected sources of hope that emerge in a crisis. Designed as a lasting record particularly for Andrew’s children, it’s a raw testimony of loss, adaptation, gratitude, and reflection.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Immediate Impact and Loss (00:03 – 11:11)

• Scope of Loss:
  Andrew’s family lost not only their home and a new house under construction, but also their children’s school, as well as much of their community’s infrastructure—retail, parks, studios, and more.

  "It was a loss of an entire community. All of our extracurriculars, the retail, the restaurants, the sports, the park, the rec center, the library..." – Andrew Kirsh (00:05)

• Community Support:
  Andrew expresses immense gratitude for the outpouring of support: donations, check-ins, and resources from friends, neighbors, and organizations.

2. The Family’s Transition (05:01 – 09:36)

• Resiliency of Children:
  Despite the trauma, Andrew comments on his children’s surprising adaptability:

  "The kids are doing much better than the parents... they are resilient creatures." – Andrew Kirsh (05:01)

• Temporary Housing:
  The Kirsh family moved into a small Santa Monica apartment they owned, previously their pre-kids residence:

  "We're in Santa Monica in the same apartment that Courtney and I lived in before we had kids." – Andrew Kirsh (05:38)

• School Relocation:
  After Village School burned down, Andrew (as a board member and real estate attorney) helped secure, negotiate, and equip a new facility in three weeks—a Herculean effort with strong parental cooperation:

  "We worked with Edmonds and Boston Properties to get Village School relocated. 55,000 square feet. We have a sublease for about three years." – Andrew Kirsh (06:46)

3. The Day of the Fire & Emotional Fallout (10:30 – 25:23)

• Recounting the Day:
  Andrew details the events before, during, and after the fire, including his initial disbelief, the rushed evacuation, and the emotional toll:

  "We see fires all the time in the hillside. I think you're being paranoid... There's no way this fire is getting to us." – Andrew Kirsh (13:27, 16:32)

• Evacuation Experience:
  The family escaped with only essentials (passports, birth certificates, Maverick's baseball glove):

  "So here's what we had in our car. Our passports, our birth certificates, some stuffed animals for the kids... and his baseball glove." – Andrew Kirsh (15:15)

• First Night and Grief:
  Andrew describes an unbearable night of sobbing and reflection:

  "I was crying not for the loss of personal items, but the loss or knowing that my kids’ childhood would never be the same." – Andrew Kirsh (19:45)

• Children’s Heartbreaking Responses:

  • Maverick:

    "I just wish that when we were driving away from our house that I took a longer look at the house, knowing that's the last time I'm gonna see it." – Maverick, via Andrew (23:26)

  • Clementine:

    "Daddy, what do you think it felt like for my stuffed animals for my Barbie Dream House to be burning... Did they feel anything?" – Clementine, via Andrew (24:01)

4. Decisions and Dilemmas: Rebuilding, Moving, or Starting Over (30:11 – 36:58)

• To Rebuild or Relocate?
  Andrew and Courtney debate whether to stay and rebuild or move elsewhere. Each option presents challenges, particularly given their children’s ages:

  "If my kids were babies or teenagers, I would say I'm rebuilding... But they're in this peak prime adolescent years... and that is the question every family of similar age kids are facing." – Andrew Kirsh (33:02)

• Changed Community Dynamics:
  Many friends and familiar faces have already left, forming new roots elsewhere, which leads to Andrew’s poignant concern:

  "Even if you ask those people, are you coming back? They may say yes today, but in two to three years... they're establishing new connections, new schools." – Andrew Kirsh (36:10)

5. The State and Future of Los Angeles (37:18 – 45:45)

• Perspective on Government Response:
  Andrew expresses frustration and anger over government failures—lack of water, emergency response delays, unaddressed infrastructure vulnerabilities:

  "Government failed us, 6,000 homes should not burn. When you start hearing about a 100-million-gallon reservoir being empty... that’s government failing us." – Andrew Kirsh (40:09)

• Debate over Staying:
  Despite opportunities (and temptations) to relocate, Andrew describes the powerful draw of community, established networks, and roots:

  "That's what's holding me back... I don't want to have to rebuild my network." – Andrew Kirsh (50:34)

• Community as a Deciding Factor:
  Gidi relates similar fears and the importance of community:

  "It's not just about a network. It's the personal relationships... In our age, making new friends... it's devastating." – Gidi Cohen (50:34)

6. Processing Trauma and Moving Forward (29:18 – 58:07)

• Therapy and Family Healing:
  Andrew shares the family’s ongoing efforts toward therapy, particularly for their daughter, and emphasizes the importance of processing trauma together.

• Pragmatic vs. Emotional Choices:
  The pull between logical decisions (task lists, insurance, legalities) and deeper existential and emotional needs (continuity, community, healing) is a recurring theme.

7. Unexpected Kindness and Lessons Learned (59:12 – End)

• Samaritan’s Purse Story:
  Profound gratitude is expressed for the Christian volunteer organization, Samaritan’s Purse, which helped search through rubble for keepsakes:

  "Churchgoing people from all over the country... took vacation time... sleeping on the floor of a church... trying to find personal belongings... The dedication that these people had to me... I’d never seen that type of selflessness before." – Andrew Kirsh (60:00–62:49)

• Restored Faith in Humanity:
  This act of generosity challenged some of Andrew’s expectations and inspired new appreciation for the goodness in people outside his default circles:

  "Just this selflessness restored my faith in humanity's humanity. It really did." – Andrew Kirsh (63:11)

• Teaching Through Crisis:
  Andrew explicitly intends this podcast’s story for his children to understand not just loss, but community strength and unexpected generosity:

  "I wanted to share my story so my kids can hear this." – Andrew Kirsh (64:39)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments with Timestamps

• On Loss & Resilience:

  "It was a loss of an entire community. All of our extracurriculars, the retail, the restaurants…" — Andrew Kirsh (00:03)
  "The kids are doing much better than the parents… they are resilient creatures." — Andrew Kirsh (05:01)

• On Community Support:

  "So many people have been so generous in making sure that our lives were able to regain some semblance of stability." — Andrew Kirsh (01:24)

• On Grieving for the Intangible:

  "I was crying not for the loss of personal items, but... my kids’ childhood would never be the same... the way of life... is not going to be replicated." — Andrew Kirsh (19:45)

• Children’s Poignant Responses:

  "I just wish... I took a longer look at the house, knowing that's the last time I'm gonna see it." — Maverick, via Andrew (23:26)
  "Daddy, what do you think it felt like for my stuffed animals... Did they feel anything?" — Clementine, via Andrew (24:01)

• On Difficult Choices:

  "If my kids were literally babies or if they were teenagers, I would say I'm rebuilding... But they're in this peak prime adolescent years..." — Andrew Kirsh (33:02)

• On Government Failures:

  "Government failed us, 6,000 homes should not burn... that's government failing us." — Andrew Kirsh (40:09)

• On the Power of Community:

  "I’ve now been a lawyer for 25 years... I don’t want to have to rebuild my network." — Andrew Kirsh (50:34)

• On Unexpected Kindness:

  "Churchgoing people... took vacation... sleeping on the floor of a church... The dedication that these people had to me... I’d never seen that type of selflessness before." — Andrew Kirsh (61:00–62:49)

• On Restored Faith in Humanity:

  "Just this selflessness restored my faith in humanity's humanity. It really did." — Andrew Kirsh (63:11)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Opening reflections and thanks: (00:03 – 02:36)
• Setting the context: Interviewer role swap: (02:36 – 04:46)
• Family’s first days displaced, housing and school logistics: (05:01 – 09:36)
• Recalling the fire and emotional aftermath: (10:30 – 25:23)
• On decisions: Rebuild, move, or wait: (30:11 – 36:58)
• Impact on community and personal relationships: (36:10 – 36:58)
• Views on LA, government, real estate market: (37:18 – 45:45)
• Struggles with trauma and finding clarity: (29:18 – 58:07)
• Story of Samaritan’s Purse and lessons in kindness: (59:12 – 63:47)
• Closing thoughts, lasting impacts, and message to the children: (64:39 – end)

Tone and Style

Throughout, both Andrew and Gidi maintain a conversational, candid, and emotionally transparent tone. They blend legal-pragmatic reasoning with vulnerability, humor (often self-deprecating), and deep empathy.

Summary

This special episode of Real Talk offers not only a record of one family's journey through devastation and recovery, but also an unvarnished window into the ways disaster shakes and reveals priorities—what is lost, what truly matters, and how communities, both expected and surprising, can show up when it matters most. Andrew’s narrative is a testament to resilience, the complexity of moving forward, and gratitude for the human capacity to care and rebuild.

Recommended for listeners interested in:

• Personal stories of resilience in disaster
• Community building under crisis
• The intersection of family, profession, and geography in the face of upheaval
• Reflective real estate discussions with emotional and philosophical depth