Limerick man's life 'erased in the blink of an eye' following 'destruction' of LA wildfires

“THE LIFE that we knew over here has been erased in the blink of an eye. The scale of destruction is unbelievable and almost everyone we know is now homeless.”

These are the devastating words of Cappamore native and film director David Gleeson whose family home which he shares with his wife, producer Nathalie Lichenthaele, and their four children, has burnt down due to the fires ripping through Los Angeles’s Pacific Palisades district. Along with the apartment and their possessions, the family also lost their cat and a hamster.

Mr Gleeson said that within six hours the entirety of Pacific Palisades was ablaze and their apartment building with everything they owned “burned to the ground.”

“Most heartbreaking is the loss of our cat Milo who died in the sanctuary that became his tomb. In addition to this, Nathalie had her late mother’s jewellery stored in a safe deposit box in the local bank. That burned down too,” the Limerick man explained to Limerick Live this Tuesday.

Mr Gleeson's daughter Gemma lost her secondary school which also burned to the ground.

David Gleeson pictured with his family

When the wildfires began on January 7, Mr Gleeson had just flown to Brussels to edit his film ONE NIGHT ONLY which he filmed scenes for at the former Royal Cinema on Cecil Street in Limerick city when Nathalie called to tell him that she had received notice to evacuate the Pacific Palisades.

Having spent the last six months in Limerick prepping and shooting the feature film, Mr Gleeson and his family had just returned to LA before Christmas.

“Initially, no one was particularly concerned as the fire was miles away and no fire had ever really threatened Pacific Palisades in the past. Often they evacuate areas just to keep the roads free from obstructions so Nathalie assumed she’d be allowed back in a few hours which is why she didn’t pack and left our cat Milo behind.”

Mr Gleeson's daughter Gemma who turns 15 today is “absolutely traumatised” as she and Milo were inseparable. She had also just gotten a tiny teacup hamster which she kept in her closet.

Mr Gleeson commented: “His name was Peter and sadly he didn’t survive either. The loss of both is more heartbreaking for us than the loss of any possessions. Our only consolation is that both creatures would have fallen asleep before the fire reached them.”

Despite this extremely tragic event, the film director is grateful for all the support and assistance being offered to him from friends and family and particularly from the people of Limerick.

“People are so good and we’re truly grateful that our family remains intact and that our loss, apart from Milo, is purely material,” said Mr Gleeson. “Others haven’t been so fortunate and we’re counting our blessings.”

He continued: “The outpouring of support we have received from friends and strangers alike has been tremendous and a real comfort to us in this difficult time. Our friend Victoria Parks set up a GoFundMe page unbeknown to us and the generosity displayed there has been truly humbling. What we’re experiencing has only served to reinforce the notion that when the chips are down what’s most important are not material things but the love and support we have for each other.”

Mr Gleeson added that they're not sure what their next move will be and he is staying in Belgium at Nathalie’s request to continue work on ONE NIGHT ONLY.

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“Nathalie and the kids have secured temporary accommodation with some friends while we figure out our next move,” said Mr Gleeson. “Perhaps our American journey has come to an end. Who knows what the future holds but we’ll be fine. We’re alive and looking forward to returning to Limerick to premiere ONE NIGHT ONLY.”

The film stars Colin Morgan as the manager of a small-town cinema who struggles to keep the peace on a chaotic Friday night at the pictures. Set in 1980's Ireland, this feel-good movie is a loving tribute to the cinema experience and was shaped by Mr Gleeson's experiences growing up in the cinema business in Cappamore.

Speaking to the Irish Times, Ms Lichtenthaeler said they “lost everything” in the tragic wildfires. “It was on television. I could not bear to watch.”

She explained how the family has lost their lives and not just material items. “We have lost our neighbourhood, our friends, the places we would go to for coffee, the walks we would take. Our children have lost their schools, their friends have gone.”

Mr Gleeson and his family are accustomed to being evacuated because of fire risk, and have had to leave their home several times in the last ten years.

“On Tuesday night our house burned down. You could see on television our corner, a place where there were a few shops and things burning, and our apartment was right beside them. I could not look. I could not bear to see it, concluded Ms Lichtenthaeler.

A GoFundMe page was set up for the family by their friend Victoria Parks-Murphy which has raised over €9,700 ($10,028) to date. You can find it by searching for 'Help an ex-pat Irish family rebuild after the Palisades fire.'

Posting to GoFundMe, Victoria said: “On January 7th, a catastrophic fire in Pacific Palisades destroyed the apartment of David Gleeson and Nathalie Lichtenthaeler, taking everything they owned—including their cherished family cat. They escaped with only the clothes on their backs, leaving behind not just their possessions but the life they had built over the last decade.

“For over 10 years, David and Nathalie have been members of the Palisades community, raising three teenage children—one of whom is autistic. This fire has taken more than their home; it has uprooted them from their school, severed ties to their neighbourhood, and left them facing a daunting road ahead.

Ms Parks-Murphy said she was “heartbroken” for the family and encouraged people to rally together to provide the support they so urgently need.

Mr Gleeson began his career at the age of nineteen, writing and directing non-professional theatre, in Limerick city with the one-act drama Class Control and he also wrote and directed Cowboys and Angels, the first feature film to shoot entirely in the city. His grandfather opened up the Regal Cinema, Cappamore, in the early 1940s, and his father, Eddie took over the business, opening up several more screens across the south west of Ireland, including the Curzon Cinema, Kilmallock, and the Ormond Cineplex in Nenagh.