Dolvett Quince, a personal trainer best known for appearing on Biggest Loser seasons 12 to 17, has been taking to social media as one of many Californians misplaced from their homes as wildfires spread across Los Angeles County.
Quince says he first heard about the fires on social media and that he could see the smoke from his home only 2 miles from the Palisades.
“I stayed that night. It was very difficult to breathe in my home because you could smell the ashes and there was just the smoke in the air. It was getting in my throat, through my nose, through my eyes, to my dogs the same thing, and we all decided to just have a bag packed just in case. And then we got an evacuation notice the next day. There was a warning,” he said.
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Quince says when he first saw the smoke as the fires began, he thought what a shame. At the time, he didn’t realize the severity of what was happening, but when he came back to his home today, it was bad.
“Lot of tree shrubs, a lot of things the wind blew over. The roads have a lot of debris still in them from the damage of the trees. I think we have a long way to get things cleaned up…it looks pretty bad,” he says.
He remains, as always, optimistic. Recalling that there have been so many other disasters throughout the years.
“Katrina survived; Puerto Rico survived. Right? They were able to bounce back. I think because California has so many resources, people who live here wanna see that their city is better handled, better governed. I think people will take action to ensure that we come back stronger. I’m hopeful for that,” said Quince.
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The community surrounding him is already showing signs of bouncing back.
“I saw people helping others with bottled waters, and exactly what I’m gonna do when I get off here with you and go out into the community and help people,” he said. “I think energetically the shift has occurred here in Los Angeles where people are actually taking care of each other and helping others.”
He also expressed some disappointment, as most wildfire victims have, at the preparedness of the government in an area well known for frequent fires and earthquakes.
“I feel as if we know the problem, but we weren’t prepared for the problem despite knowing,” he expressed. “We pay too many taxes to get this limited care.”
He did, however, praise firefighters throughout the area and neighboring countries for their quick response and assistance, saying they deserve more for all their hard work.
“The response time with the firemen and the first responders, the firemen and the firewomen who came was amazing, absolutely amazing,” Quince said enthusiastically. “Firefighters should be paid more, firefighters should be appreciated more, and I think as a state, especially in states that are susceptible to fires, I think there should be a bump there. There should absolutely be we care enough for your hard work and what you have to go through to sacrifice your life and your families lives to do the work that you’re doing. We should take better care of them.”
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