Mountain Fire: Support the Aslan Family

Mountain Fire: Support the Aslan Family

Hello, we are reaching out for your support. My Family home was destroyed for the third time in my father’s life. They left with only the clothes on their back. Your donation will go towards basic necessities and shelter. Thankfully they have shelter with me and my family for now. I am their daughter/ sister. Everything they had went into building their home and legacy. We tirelessly worked for decades. Tragedy after tragedy, they did not give up. Please don’t let them lose hope now.

My mother: Susan Aslan, was an LAUSD teacher for 39 years. She started a YouTube channel for her students during Covid: Learn and Cre8. She just retired in 2023 with plans to organize the house, publish books she wrote and paint. She is an active member of the Somis Community.

My father: Ken Aslan, is an active member of the Somis Community. Founder and Former Executive Director of the Historic Core BID in Downtown Los Angeles. Founded to revitalize the city. He is a farmer and an art collector. He worked with the goal to open their home as a museum and event space for the community.

My brother: Gabriel Aslan is a music artist and sound engineer. “Dead Dreams” Link to music video “Grave Sight”

https://youtu.be/RIjMZiak488?si=LXYMetRAOX_ZsV6C

The money will go towards helping the family with living expenses and basic necessities. This would help them get back on their feet. The devastation is vast, and there is an overwhelming amount of things to deal with.

Their Story:

My Dad saw the smoke, he called 911. My parents started texting and calling neighbors. They thought their unique vantage point from the hill would help neighbors to be aware of the situation. This helped save lives. The fire moved with 100-mile-per-hour winds in unpredictable swirls of direction. They had no time. They ran from the house. They saved the dogs and even grabbed the macaw in their arms. My father did not have time to grab his wallet or glasses. Picture here is the view from the driveway as they fled. They drove into black smoke with zero visibility, their only exit. My brother’s car crashed. The car was totaled, but thankfully, he was okay and able to jump into my mother's car. My mother said “It was terrifying. As I drove, I couldn’t see an inch in front of me only black smoke and flames.”

They had a false sense of security. They had prepared the house for fire with every effort and dollar they could and had meetings with the local fire department. However, on the day of the fire, the fire department never came, and the fire sprinklers never went off. It was one of the first structures to burn, and at the time, there was a mandate not to protect structures or even enter the area.

The 71 and 94 earthquakes also destroyed their home. The Aslan family survived by living in the decimation and rebuilding. This was no easy task and took over 10 years each time. But that just inspired them to build their legacy in a place where they felt safe from earthquakes, only to be reduced to rubble and ash from the Mountain Fire. “We built our home for future generations and only now did we feel like we had time to enjoy it. I thought this would be my first Thanksgiving with no major worries.” Says Ken Aslan.

The house and art were my family’s investment. Everything they had went into the home. They were still in the process of recovering and rebuilding from the 2023 rain storms that cost over $200,000 in damage. With the main concern to make the driveway accessible after the mudslides, especially for fire trucks. These efforts were only possible with the support of FEMA and SBA.

2018 felt like the first time in my father’s life that he could put a painting on a wall. And thus began my family’s journey to unearth generations of storage, of collections and family history spanning across the globe. It was to be my mother’s project after retirement in 2023. They then began to expand the family’s collections of furniture, sculptures, paintings and artifacts ranging from 7,000 year old antiquities to current art.

Because of California’s limited insurance option, the home was forced into the California Fair Plan, the State of California’s insurance coverage of last resort. Although the property was insured the maximum allowed, it left the property drastically under insured.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you.