Colleen Hagerty

California, Los Angeles

Multimedia Journalist at Freelance

Disaster-focused freelance journalist. Previously @bbcworld @nowthis @ny1 Subscribe to my newsletter, My World's on Fire👇

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Articles

Guilt, Hope, and Uncertainty: Three Eaton Fire Survivors, Three Different Journeys

3 weeks ago | sierraclub.org | Colleen Hagerty |Alisha Jucevic

This is part one of a yearlong following three households impacted by the January 2025 Eaton Fire in Los Angeles. The diverse stories of these neighbors—who lived only blocks away from one another—offer an intimate glimpse into the complexities of disaster recovery and the decisions that must be made long after the breaking news. When Donny Kincey evacuated his parents’ house in Altadena, California, flames were pouring down the mountains behind him like liquid.
Climate Disasters Are Revealing the Vulnerability of US Water Systems

Mar 4, 2025 | sierraclub.org | Colleen Hagerty

As wildfires burned across Los Angeles in early January, nearly 200,000 people were put under evacuation orders. In the weeks since, these residents have slowly started returning, some to properties that were lost to the fires and others to structures that seemed to be untouched but where less visible threats lurk. That includes potential contaminants coursing through the water pipes beneath their feet, which can incur fire damage that takes days, if not weeks, to address.
What Dismantling FEMA Will Really Mean When the Next Disaster Strikes

Feb 24, 2025 | rollingstone.com | Colleen Hagerty

February 24, 2025 FEMA Urban Search and Rescue work with LA County Fire Fighters in Altadena in January.
What Dismantling FEMA Will Really Mean When the Next Disaster Strikes

Feb 24, 2025 | yahoo.com | Colleen Hagerty

After Hurricane Helene ripped through North Carolina, Francesca got to work. As an employee for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, she was deployed to the state for a month to coordinate aid for impacted residents, which included feeding families and sharing information at community events. From the start, her work was more challenging than usual.
Los Angelenos Have a Long Road Ahead of Them

Jan 24, 2025 | heatmap.news | Colleen Hagerty

Two weeks after two of California’s most destructive wildfires on record sparked on the same day in Los Angeles, tens of thousands of displaced residents are taking the first steps of their recovery processes. Officials have started lifting evacuation orders for both the Eaton and Palisades fires, allowing families to return to their properties for the first time.
How did these "miracle" homes survive LA's wildfires?

Jan 22, 2025 | nationalgeographic.com | Colleen Hagerty

The Eaton and Palisades fires in Los Angeles have secured spots in the top three most destructive wildfires on record in California, each destroying thousands of structures since they sparked on January 7. Images from Altadena and Pacific Palisades, the two hardest-hit neighborhoods, show entire blocks reduced to rubble, piles of gray ash where familiar community landmarks like homes, businesses, and schools stood before.
The Federal Safety Net for Disaster Survivors Is Increasingly Uncertain

Jan 20, 2025 | sierraclub.org | Colleen Hagerty

For nearly two weeks, survivors of two of the most destructive wildfires in California history have gathered for help at the Westwood Recreation Center in Los Angeles. The community center has been transformed into an everything-you-might-need shelter for those who fled the wildfires that have burned across the city since January 7.
How Los Angeles Sent Nearly 10 Million People a False Fire Alert

Jan 18, 2025 | rollingstone.com | Colleen Hagerty

January 18, 2025 This photo illustration shows the recall message of an evacuation warning issued by the LA County Office of Emergency Management.
The Cost of Surviving a Wildfire

Jan 16, 2025 | businessandamerica.com | Colleen Hagerty

Some losses are incalculable. For Ms. Lavasani, it’s the photo albums of her two daughters, Xena and Rezvon, both now grown, that she mourns the most. She had hoped to save them as the fire drew nearer. “I was so scared of losing those memories,” Ms. Lavasani, 57, said. “All memories — gone.”Tricia Wachtendorf, director of the Disaster Research Center at the University of Delaware, said researchers think of the financial costs of evacuating a disaster in three buckets.
The Cost of Surviving a Wildfire

Jan 16, 2025 | nytimes.com | Colleen Hagerty

Roya Lavasani spent nearly 30 years building a home and business for her family on a Malibu street just off the Pacific Coast Highway. She and her husband, Majid Amirani, owned a four-unit condo, living in one unit and renting out the other three furnished spaces for a total of about $150,000 a year.