During the L.A. fires, a local reporter’s comments are overflowing with addresses, and her response becomes viral
Ashley Sharp, a CBS Sacramento reporter, talks to PEOPLE about using photographer Dave Grashoff to help provide updates to L.A. wildfire victims on TikTok.
Ashley Sharp, a reporter for CBS Sacramento, has extensive experience covering natural disasters.
She covered the Thompson fire in Northern California in July 2024 and the tornadoes that tore through Tennessee in 2020 during her six years as a reporter.
However, Sharp, 28, acknowledges that she has found it difficult to comprehend the extent of the destruction caused by the L.A. fires, which mostly affected the towns of Altadena and the Pacific Palisades. “Watching a fire break out in Los Angeles, the second-biggest city in our nation, was really different,” Sharp tells PEOPLE.
“The way that this fire affected so much of the city in such a short period of time was just so shocking to see, but it’s not that the hurt or the loss is any different [from other natural disasters] on a basic level.”
According to CalFire, as of January 22, the Eaton fire is 91% contained and has burned over 9,400 houses, while the Palisades fire is 63% controlled and has damaged over 6,300 structures. According to the Associated Press, the estimated loss and damages from the LA flames range from $135 billion to $150 billion, making it one of the most expensive natural disasters in American history.
