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An entire neighborhood in Pacific Palisades is burned to the ground down in Los Angeles. This location is an approximate 17 minute drive from the Clintons’ LA home. (Submitted)

Devastation left behind after fire swept through a Los Angeles neighborhood. (Submitted)

Devastation left behind after fire swept through a Los Angeles neighborhood. (Submitted)

Devastation left behind after fire swept through a Los Angeles neighborhood. (Submitted)

A house burns in the neighborhood of one of Clinton’s friends. (Submitted)

Front from left, Michael and Tiffany Clinton and their children, back from left, Brilliant, 4, and Styles, 7. Michael, a businessman, and Tiffany, an attorney, own The Guest House. (Submitted)

NATCHEZ — “This is the Katrina of Los Angeles,” said part-time Natchezian Michael Clinton.

Clinton and his wife, Tiffany, and their children — son Styles, 7, and daughter Brilliant, 4 — spend time in Natchez frequently since purchasing The Guest House in May 2022.

Los Angeles is the family’s home base, and that community is hurting right now, he said.

According to national news media outlets, four wildfires are raging across Los Angeles County. The death toll right now is at 10, but officials warn that an exact number is not known because it is not safe for investigators to go into neighborhoods.

On Friday, more than 153,000 people were ordered to evacuate. Entire neighborhoods were devastated, and at least 10,000 properties were destroyed. Officials estimate the coastal Palisades fire could be the costliest in history.

Clinton said the fire was zero percent contained on Thursday night.

“This is the Katrina of Los Angeles. That’s the way people need to understand it and how devastating, impactful and catastrophic it is. This fire is apocalyptic,” he said.

“Everything is covered in ash. The air quality is really, really bad. We can see the fire in the distance,” he said Thursday night.

Fortunately, the Clinton’s home in Baldwin Hills is not in immediate danger, though it is in a “Red Tag Zone,” which means the family must be prepared and ready to leave their home at any time.

The Clinton children’s schools and the homes of many of their friends are another story.

“My kids go to school in Santa Monica. My son’s school is in an evacuation zone. Thirty to 40 percent of the parents of children in his school live in Pacific Palisades, and many of them have lost their homes,” Clinton said.

“It’s just devastating. My children are scared and worried. They are asking us if we are going to lose our house like some of their friends have. That’s what children are thinking here now.”

He said many of their friends and their children’s friends’ families are staying in hotels because they have lost their homes and everything else they own.”

Daughter Brilliant’s school is located near their son’s school and is also impacted.

“Everyone is afraid. We were thinking about leaving, but we didn’t want to leave because we are a part of this community and want to support it. Maybe our friends will want to bring their kids to our house. We are trying to galvanize. People here need everything — water, clothes, just everything,” he said. “And you need to understand, these are $5 million to $15 million homes. These are wealthy people.”

Clinton said the wildfires Los Angeles residents are experiencing now are not typical of past wildfires.

“This is very different. Usually, the fires are so far away it doesn’t have a direct and personal impact, not that your heart does not hurt for those victims. This one is in the heart of Los Angeles. Many of our kids’ classmates are homeless. This has hit much closer to home and it’s sad and real, and it’s still going on.

“I happen to work with a construction firm, and we are gearing up on how we can help, but the mental health aspect, the emotional component of this, the spiritual component…I don’t know,” he said. “It’s not just houses. It’s businesses, malls — infrastructure is just decimated. We will try to do what we can to support this community with our personal resources and our businesses.”

Clinton said Tuesday is when things became serious and got out of hand in Pacific Palisades.

“What really made it bad was the unprecedented winds. It was not just the structures on fire, but the wind carrying hundreds of thousands of embers, swirling and carrying and moving the fire quickly and preventing the spray hoses and helicopters and airplanes carrying water from dumping that water on the fire,” he said.

When water and flame suppressants emerged from the hose or were released from the aircraft, fierce winds would blow them away, preventing them from reaching the flames.

Clinton said he heard that the original Pacific Palisades fire started in a backyard fire there, but he does not know that for certain.

He said on Monday, he knew the winds were coming.

“When I heard the wind, I didn’t think fire, but when you combine the fire with the windstorm, this is what you get,” Clinton said.

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