IN THE PALISADES, FOOTBALL OFFERS A WAY THROUGH THE TRAUMA

Words by Ili Hyseni de Brissac
Photography by Jordy Marsono

January 26, 2025

LOS ANGELES, California — It was business as usual last weekend for the players gathered at the Camino Nuevo Academy field in Silver Lake, Los Angeles. Amidst the backdrop of the fires that have ravaged L.A. communities since the beginning of the year, football is providing many in this city with a much welcomed distraction. Teams dressed in full kits belonging to the Galaxy, FC Bayern, Arsenal and Real Madrid took to the pitch for the first time following the suspension of their Sunday league due to poor air quality. On the sidelines, bench players and on-lookers sat around chatting, laughing and snacking on palitos.

Elsewhere, in Korea Town’s MacArthur Park, the fields were full of players, young and old, taking part in drop-in games, a weekend ritual for the local community. In this community, made up of a large contingent of migrant workers from countries like Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador, football plays an important role; providing a way to relieve stress and connect with kinfolk outside of the confines of work.

While a sense of normality has, at least on pitch, begun to wash over communities in the centre of L.A., the situation in the suburbs is still anything but normal. At the time of writing, 12,000 buildings have burned down, 200,000+ residents have been evacuated and 25 people have lost their lives. In the communities most affected, the search for a sense of normality is very much on.

Among the areas worst hit by the fires is Pacific Palisades. The Westside neighborhood has been on the frontlines for the past several weeks, with residents describing the devastation as biblical in proportion. Indeed, the Palisades fire has burned down 6809 structures and scorched 23,448 acres, representing an area larger than Manhattan. From homes and schools being burned down to hundreds of childcare providers being forced to close, the fire has hit children particularly hard; upending routines and putting life on hold for a generation of young people that have now witnessed two once-in-a-century events in the space of 5 years.

Someone who knows just how much damage has been caused to young Palisadians and their families is Mele French, an ex-professional footballer and Founder and Director of the Palisades based grassroots football club L.A Bulls. In the unique position of being southern California’s only club founded and run by women, Mele and her team are deeply embedded in the community they serve- providing aspiring footballers with access to elite coaching as well as bringing hundreds of families from across the area together.

The events that unfolded over January 6 and 7 are still fresh for Mele. In Hawaii visiting her parents on January 6, Mele first heard about the high winds from her staff who had reached out regarding the practise session that was due to be held later that day. After consulting with her staff and community members, it was deemed safe enough to hold practise- the first session back following a 4-week break. Looking back on those fateful hours, nothing could have prepared Mele and her team for what was about to unfold; “everyone appreciated being back at practise after the 4-week break but the next day, we get these fire warnings and before you know it schools are getting shut down in the Palisades and evacuations are happening.”

Fanned by high winds, the Palisades fire quickly spread from 10 acres in size on the morning of January 7 to well over 17,000 by the morning of the 9th. Thousands were told to evacuate and with traffic piling up on the main routes out; many residents left on foot, carrying with them what little possessions they could hold. Despite feeling a sense of helplessness being so far away from her team and community, Mele acted quickly in those following hours to ensure her team would be ready to respond to the needs of their community.

While the big picture is still relatively unclear, according to the data Mele and her staff have collected, 15-20% of the families associated with the Bulls have lost everything- representing upwards of 100 families, with many more affected in varying ways. “There’s a spectrum of impact. From people who have lost everything on one side, to those that have been evacuated, to our teams who are impacted because our players can’t return,” said Mele when asked for her assessment of the impact the fires had had on the club.

With the fires still raging on the weekend of January 10, the Bulls launched a donation drive based out of the Courtyard Marriott hotel in Culver City. With the location kindly offered to the club by the hotel chain, Mele and her team set up a centre where players and their families could get some much needed respite from the trauma of the previous days and stock up on essentials.

Recalling that first weekend, Mele said, “we wanted to make sure everyone had the essentials, had soccer cleats to put on if if they wanted to go and play the next day.” The donation drive was a huge success and served families well beyond the grassroots community, with 50% of the hotel being occupied by evacuees at the time. “It was one of those situations where we almost had to stop taking which was a great place to be in.”

Meanwhile in Santa Clarita, northwestern L.A., another pillar of the community was opening his store up to those in need. Former Guatemala youth international, Carlos Marroquin, 55, has run Planet Soccer on Santa Clarita’s Main Street since 2004, serving the city’s players with the latest kit. When the fires broke out his first reaction was to ensure players who had lost everything could carry on playing the game they love.

As a champion of women’s football and owner of USL W-League side Santa Clarita Blue Heat since 2009, Carlos has made it one of his life’s missions to make football accessible to everyone: “It’s not fair if a kid can’t play soccer if they don’t have shoes, so I decided to help because my heart is broken into a million pieces. I only have one life and I’m here to help these people so my decision to help came from my heart”.

Similar initiatives have been announced by other stores across L.A. County with Bulls partner and Santa Monica based football store Niky’s collaborating with Adidas to ensure the replenishment of equipment and kit for those who have lost their belongings.

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It’s common to hear people argue that football is just a game. But in reality it’s so much more than that. Beyond being used as a tool to help people physically, in the Palisades, as well as elsewhere, there is a real opportunity to deploy the game for holistic benefit.

Just over two weeks have passed since the fires broke out, with the Palisades blaze now up to 79% contained. While the community is by no means out of the woods yet, Mele has allowed some of her focus to shift on helping players heal the psychological wounds inflicted by the fires. On January 15, the Bulls took a major step in achieving this goal by holding their first practise session since before the tragedy, bringing a much needed sense of normality to both players and parents.

For Andre Boissier, whose son plays as a goalkeeper for the Bulls, the overwhelming feeling was one of relief. Mele’s efforts to resume training as soon as the situation allowed have been crucial in helping Andre’s son process all the anxiety. While watching from the sidelines, he reflected on the important role football will play in healing the wounds of his community, “This is the first training we’ve had for the Bulls, even though this is rag-tag, this is the best because it provides a profound sense of community. Football is a very important part of my son’s life and allows him to get his energy out.”

Mele agreed, “these kids are not for one second thinking about the fires that have just happened. The parents are dropping their kids off and getting a happy kid in the car. For the last week they’ve been miserable and depressed so the healing is starting now which is why it’s very important to our club to provide normalcy and consistency.”

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In times like these, it’s often hard to look ahead. Nonetheless, evacuees like Andre and his family who had to leave their home for a week, recognise the need to move forward and start the process of recovery.

“Its surreal, the really strange part is we evacuated for a week and drove back two days ago to blue skies, crisp air and not a cloud of smoke in the sky- people jogging and walking their dogs. I kept thinking am I living in a parallel universe? You quickly realise that the world keeps spinning and that you have to move forward as well.”

The weeks and months ahead are going to be fraught with uncertainty. Debris needs to be cleared, homes, schools and football fields rebuilt and services restored. Residents of the Palisades are being told by the authorities that, due to the build up of hazardous waste, the clean up process could take up to 18 months, delaying rebuilds. President Trump, only in his first full week in office, disagreed with the assessment while visiting the Palisades on Friday. “I just think you have to allow the people to go on their site and start the process tonight.” Caught between the inevitable political wrangling are the residents, anxiously waiting to be allowed to patch their lives back together.

While the government will play the biggest part in helping rebuild the affected communities, Mele knows that at the grassroots level, the Bulls will play a big role in helping people bounce back. For her and her staff, the donation drive in Culver City was a good start but it was just the beginning. The goal now is to build structures and programmes that have a lasting impact, supporting the affected families well into this year and possibly into the next. “We plan on running year long events to bring the community together, whether that’s soccer events, tournaments, fundraising,” Mele said when asked for her thoughts on the future. “We’re planning on keeping our donation station open for at least the year for the people of greater L.A.”

The events of the last few weeks have taken a toll on everyone. Days have felt like weeks and weeks like months. Mele, who spent 12 years

playing professional football at the highest level for teams including Seattle Reign, SC Freiburg and Vancouver Whitecaps, has faced tough challenges before but very few will compare to the one she’s faced this month. For even the most resilient like Mele, the last few weeks will be hard to process; “we’re all humans and the game is universal. In times like this when tragedies are happening, we’re reminded of the beauty of the game and that it brings us together no matter who we are.” If the recent events in the Palisades have taught us anything, it’s that football is clearly more than just a game- it’s community. And the one Mele’s built was built to last. ^____