Home Australia Devastated ABC news reporter lost ‘dream home’ in LA fires just one night after she moved in

Devastated ABC news reporter lost ‘dream home’ in LA fires just one night after she moved in

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An ABC reporter spent just one night in the

An ABC reporter spent just one night in her “dream home” before it burned down in the devastating Los Angeles fires.

Over the weekend, Los Angeles-based correspondent Zohreen Shah spoke about her story of loss after the Palisades Fire burned down her newly purchased home.

In a joint Instagram post with her husband Rishi Shah, she reflected on how they closed on the coastal property less than a month ago and have just started moving in.

He explained that they spent only one night in his house, that they spent six years searching until they finally found the ‘perfect’ one, before it burned down.

Along with photographs of her ‘sanctuary’ and the ruins that remain, the journalist described the heartbreaking loss while noting how much she sacrificed just to save for the down payment.

He noted how much hard work he put in to achieve his “dream of having what my parents didn’t have” because his mother and father never owned a home.

An ABC reporter spent just one night in her “dream home” before it burned down in the devastating Los Angeles fires. Over the weekend, Los Angeles-based correspondent Zohreen Shah spoke about her story of loss after the Palisades Fire burned down her newly purchased home.

‘I lost my house in the fires. “It’s a total loss,” she wrote in the caption of a joint Instagram post with her husband Rishi Shah while sharing photos of the ruins of what used to be their “dream home.”

She explained that she and her husband finally found the coastal property in November and closed on it for the holiday season on Christmas Eve.

They had just moved in before the fire consumed their new home in Pacific Palisades.

‘We started moving last week. Time and again I told Rishi that I couldn’t believe this shrine was ours. We spent one night there. Just one.

She continued: ‘It was magical. We dreamed of retiring in that same house. Only five minutes from PCH, but felt like another planet.

“The deer walked up to the house, the birds sounded like a tropical island, and the ocean view was the California dream,” he wrote. ‘We had peach, nectarine, lemon and avocado trees, and a small enclosure for lettuce and strawberries, safe from wildlife.

“But it was more than all that,” he added. ‘It was the culmination of Rishi’s six-year search for the perfect coastal home. He found it in November and we closed on Christmas Eve.

Along with photographs of her 'sanctuary' and the ruins that remain, the reporter described the heartbreaking loss while noting how much she sacrificed just to save for the down payment.

Along with photographs of her ‘sanctuary’ and the ruins that remain, the reporter described the heartbreaking loss while noting how much she sacrificed just to save for the down payment.

In a joint Instagram post with her husband Rishi Shah, she reflected on how they closed on the coastal property less than a month ago and had just started moving in.

In a joint Instagram post with her husband Rishi Shah, she reflected on how they closed on the coastal property less than a month ago and had just started moving in.

He explained that they spent only one night in his house, that they spent six years searching until they finally found the 'perfect' one, before it burned down.

He explained that they spent only one night in his house, that they spent six years searching until they finally found the ‘perfect’ one, before it burned down.

She explained that she and her husband finally found the coastal property in November and closed on it for the holiday season on Christmas Eve.

She explained that she and her husband finally found the coastal property in November and closed on it for the holiday season on Christmas Eve.

They had just moved in when fire burned down their new home in Pacific Palisades. He said he was

They had just moved in before the fire consumed their new home in Pacific Palisades. She said she was “very proud” to have saved enough for a down payment after sacrificing travel and having children.

He said his friends have told them they can now rebuild

She said her friends have told them they can now rebuild “the way we want,” but that the house “was already perfect” for her. Shah acknowledged that they are “very lucky” to be safe, but admitted that they are still “very sad.”

She said she was “very proud” to have saved enough for a down payment after sacrificing travel and having children.

She reflected on how she worked very hard because her mother and father never had a home and she worked hard ‘with the dream of having what my parents didn’t have.’

‘I cook most meals at home, I haven’t had children yet and I don’t travel for fun. Because of this, over the years I saved enough for 20% of our down payment,” he wrote. ‘I was very proud. And then, just like that, after years of working and saving, it was gone.’

She said her friends have told them they can now rebuild “the way we want,” but that the house “was already perfect” for her.

Shah acknowledged that they are “very lucky” to be safe, but admitted that they are still “very sad.”

“I’m torn between feeling like a stronger, wiser version of myself and curling up into a scared 4-year-old version,” she wrote. ‘I’m also scared because this isn’t even over.’

He then said he has “questions and demands” and called insurance companies and politicians.

‘I am determined to find answers. This journey is personal. I hope that when people see me on TV or on TikTok, they know that they are watching someone who saw their dream house turn into rubble and is struggling to rebuild it.”

Last Tuesday, wildfires broke out in Pacific Palisades and quickly became many catastrophic fires in the greater Los Angeles area due to dangerous winds and severe drought conditions; Pacific Palisades photographed on January 7

Last Tuesday, wildfires broke out in Pacific Palisades and quickly became many catastrophic fires in the greater Los Angeles area due to dangerous winds and severe drought conditions; Pacific Palisades photographed on January 7

Exactly one week later, fires have devastated more than 37,000 acres and burned more than 12,000 structures as thousands of heroic firefighters continue to battle dangerous wildfires. At least 25 people have died in the devastating fires; Pacific Palisades photographed on January 14

Exactly one week later, fires have devastated more than 37,000 acres and burned more than 12,000 structures as thousands of heroic firefighters continue to battle dangerous wildfires. At least 25 people have died in the devastating fires; Pacific Palisades photographed on January 14

Last Tuesday, wildfires broke out in Pacific Palisades and quickly became many catastrophic fires in the greater Los Angeles area due to dangerous winds and severe drought conditions.

Exactly one week later, fires have devastated more than 37,000 acres and burned more than 12,000 structures as thousands of heroic firefighters continue to battle dangerous wildfires.

About 88,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders and another 84,000 are under evacuation warnings.

At least 25 people have died in the devastating fires.

As of this writing, the Palisades Fire is at 18 percent containment, while the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena is at 35 percent containment.

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