LOS ANGELES — The wildfires that devastated communities around Los Angeles in mid-January may have a residual impact on tire dealerships going forward.
The multiple wildfires impacted mostly residential properties, claiming at least 27 lives, along with more than 5,000 structures in the Pacific Palisades and more than 7,000 structures in the Altadena area.
Thousands of residents have lost homes or had to evacuate temporarily. News footage showed numerous houses and vehicles gutted by fire.
Jon Stokes at Stokes Tire Service in Santa Monica, said he lives near the border of Malibu and Pacific Palisades where about 70% of his neighborhood is gone.
"My house is still standing. However, nine days after the fire, they're not letting anybody back up to our homes for any reason. So, I'm blocked off to see it," he told Tire Business.
He said his store on Santa Monica Boulevard was safe.
But while the structure is safe, his business may still be negatively impacted by the fires.
"We pull a lot of business from the Pacific Palisades, which is leveled. So, we did lose some percentage of our store (clientèle). ... We do pull from the Palisades and Malibu, and I'm sure we lost, this is a wild guess, 15% of our customers, maybe 20% just as a result of the fire," Stokes said.