Marie Claire: The Women on the Frontlines of the Los Angeles Wildfires
Marie Claire interviewed pulmonologist Isabel Pedraza, MD, director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, about her experience—both personally and professionally—during the recent L.A. wildfires.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is roughly in the middle of Los Angeles between the county’s two largest fires, which burned 20 miles to the northeast in Altadena and 10 miles to the west in the Pacific Palisades. At one point, the Sunset Fire broke out in nearby Runyon Canyon, but it was quickly extinguished.
Amid all these fires, Pedraza was one of many staff members who had to evacuate their homes while also being called upon to care for patients. She told Marie Claire that while physicians treated patients with respiratory issues caused by the smoke-filled air, some clinicians also were experiencing the same symptoms themselves—and in some cases, they even lost their own homes.
“As doctors, we all have to be able to manage our emotions to some extent or we couldn’t do our jobs,” Pedraza said. “In some ways it’s similar to COVID. But the difference now is, because of where we are, the devastation is so much more … I don’t want to say personal, but so many of our colleagues’ lives have been completely changed because they’ve lost everything.”
Pedraza told Marie Claire hospital staff came together to support each another, “covering their shifts or finding ways to allow them to deal with this trauma without having to worry about working.”
The “sobering” experience made Pedraza worry about future natural disasters.
“I don’t think anyone thought that kind of devastation could be possible, that entire neighborhoods could be wiped out,” she told Marie Claire. “It has made me think twice. Are we prepared? Is our home prepared for something like this?”
Click here to read the complete article from Marie Claire.