MSNBC’s Katy Tur on Thursday came face-to-face with her childhood home burned to the ground as she toured Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood, one of the areas in the city that’s been devastated by ongoing, deadly wildfires.
“I don’t even know what to say,” said Tur, a Los Angeles native, who had been silent for more than ten seconds as she took in the sight of the property in ruins.
Tur then pointed to where her family’s garage, living room, kitchen and bedrooms would’ve been as she reflected on going to high school and college from the now-destroyed home.
“I threw my first house party, the cops showed up. I lost my grandmother while I was living here, to lung cancer. My parents lost their entire business. My dad almost died. My dog was eaten by a coyote,” said Tur, who noted that she was thinking of the “bad” memories instead of the “good” ones.
She added that her mother’s “pride and joy” was a “great, big baby grand piano” where she played Chopin in the home.
“It’s really difficult to see this sort of stuff,” said Tur of the scene before adding that she still has loved ones in LA despite now living in New York.
“But just seeing the damage and knowing that your memories, that you had memories connected to a place that is no longer standing. It felt raw for me. And if it feels raw for me, it’s got to feel unbearable for thousands of people that are going to come back here in the coming days and weeks.”
Earlier in the day, she went to the “heart” of Pacific Palisades — which includes her former elementary school — where she weighed in on what’s now “completely gone” in her old neighborhood.
Tur’s childhood home is among at least 10,000 structures in the Los Angeles area that have been ravaged by the fires, which have killed at least 10 people.
Prior to her report on the home, Tur — in a heartfelt moment on MSNBC Wednesday — talked of having “such a hard time” following the story of the wildfires “because it is so personal.”
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“It’s my elementary school, I think my childhood homes, it’s the grocery stores, it’s the post office, it’s the car wash. Silly things like the car wash,” she said.
“You look at the images and I keep getting videos from friends and you can’t figure out what you’re looking at because it’s unrecognizable.”