Oakridge Mobile Home Park residents make do during Christmas

The Los Angeles Times ^ | December 25, 2008 | Alexandra Zavis

[dbz77]

Jody Miller is doing her best.

The only tree she could squeeze into the temporary apartment she is sharing with her husband this Christmas was too tiny to decorate. So she strung up lights above the fireplace, pinned stockings to the front door and lined up three glowing reindeer on the patio wall.

It feels festive. But Christmas won't be the same without all the couple's friends and neighbors from the Oakridge Mobile Home Park.

The close-knit community once celebrated the major holidays together. But the residents have scattered since fire erupted last month in the hills above Sylmar and destroyed 487 of the park’s 608 homes.

"I went to visit my house the other day and cried," Miller said. "The park is empty now and it's like a cemetery."

[Riley]

They’re lucky it wasn’t worse. I used to live in one of those things, the older ones are firetraps. Two of my neighbors burned to death in theirs. The neighbors could hear the neighbor behind me in hers, but there was so much heat that they couldn’t get to her. It woke me up when one of her oxygen cylinders exploded. It was in the middle of the night one night, years ago.

[GeronL]

i live in one, a newer one

[Riley]

I’m given to understand that the newer ones are very well-built. I looked at some not too long ago, and they were very nice.

Old ones though, can be a very different story. Dangerous. Mine had aluminum wiring in it, but copper outlets and switches. I couldn’t find any aluminum ones for it. Every now and again, one of my outlets would explode. Thankfully every time it happened I was there. I saw one go up. No warning, just a fist-sized crackling electrical arc that lasted for five seconds or so, surrounded by flammable materials.

[Sybeck1]

Sounds like a neighbor cooking a batch of meth again.

[nothingnew]

Sad. I guess Jody Miller lost her gig at Newsbusted.

FMCDH(BITS)