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On the quiet Creative Care campus in Malibu, California, patients pay more than $ 35,000 a month to be treated for addiction and mental health issues as part of a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean.
Friday, just hours after the evacuation order from the city early in the morning, all we could see was flames.
The Woolsey fire, one of the major fires that ravaged California, finally destroyed four of the seven buildings in the complex. Other rehab centers in Malibu, including Alo House's recovery centers, have suffered significant damage. Seasons in Malibu said to have lost one of its four houses.
Since the beginning of last week, the Woolsey fire has killed at least three people and wiped out more than 500 structures. The campfire, north of Sacramento, has left at least 63 dead and thousands of people around the state have lost their homes. On Friday, smoke had pushed pollution levels in northern California to some of the lowest ranked cities in China and India.
The fire in southern California has also affected hundreds of patients dealing with personal demons. Many have been transferred from quiet facilities to sister facilities, Airbnb rentals and hotels. Operators at many rehabilitation centers, unable to provide appropriate post-closure treatment, have transferred their clients to competitors.
Malibu has one of the largest concentrations of drug treatment centers and sober homes in the United States, with at least one square kilometer, according to data from the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The luxury properties of the area, which are part of a coastal strip known as Rehab Riviera, often attract paparazzi in hopes of glimpsing wealthy clients such as Ben Affleck and Britney. Spears.
However, these gaiters pale in the face of natural disasters. Accreditation agencies require that treatment centers have contingency plans, but often only ask for a "bare minimum" of information, said Priya Chaudhri, chief executive officer of the agency. Behavioral Health Elevation, which has lost two of its three properties in Malibu and near Agoura Hills.
"We hope that as landlords, we will go one step further to have a more comprehensive plan, but we do not have to disclose it.They rely on us, our good judgment, "she said. "A lot of things you just need to sort of wing in the moment."
Each of the 21 Creative Care patients in Malibu received a bag of luggage before fleeing the fire. They were grouped into 12-passenger vans normally used for mini-golf trips or drug support meetings, then taken to Airbnbs in the San Fernando Valley. Dozens of employees responsible for keeping quiet patients joined the exodus.
The trip lasted six hours and followed a 35-minute route, said Farrah Khaleghi, clinical director of Creative Care. The Pacific Coast Highway, she said, was a "parking lot" where firefighters repeatedly stopped traffic to counter the flames along the side of the road.
"It was terrifying," she said. "You look behind you, there are huge flames and the smoke is thick and heavy. It's as if this monster was devouring everything in sight. "
Six patients from a Creative Care facility in Calabasas, who survived the fire, were evacuated to an Airbnb at Pacific Palisades. Five horses used for therapy were moved from both sites.
Creative Care losses in Malibu will exceed 30 million dollars, said Dr. Khaleghi. The company, which his parents founded 29 years ago, has spent more than $ 250,000 on the evacuation and securing of a replacement facility in Woodland Hills. After purchasing enough furniture and bedding to fill multiple homes, the administrators transferred patients earlier this week.
According to experts, drug treatment is more effective when it is continuous, and drug-based detox programs can last for weeks. Many treatment center owners are concerned about the disruption of the fire.
"We are treating a very sensitive and very serious client group," said Dr. Khaleghi. "It's really important to take root and ensure stability."
Pax Prentiss, founder of the Passages treatment network with his father, Chris, said the company had transferred 25 Malibu customers to the Santa Monica and Brentwood Passages sites, quickly returning them to their treatment regimen.
"Some of the other facilities do not have that luxury," he said. "I think almost everyone lost clients because they had to send them back to other institutions."
Dr. Chaudhri of Elevation said its treatment centers began evacuating on Friday at 14:30. In the car, she rushed in search of temporary accommodation for her 30 clients.
The rental market "was crazy," she said. Airbnb hosts, she added, "were doing a lot of price scams, and some were very candid about it."
Hotels were not an ideal solution – maintaining client confidentiality would be difficult, as would distributing medication and monitoring patients every 30 minutes – but Dr. Chaudhri said she had little choice . She avoided locations offering minibars and room service and will be staying at a mid-priced hotel located near the Los Angeles International Airport.
She later learned that several other treatment centers were in the same hotel.
"Everyone was struggling," she said.
Hospitality offers or equipment donations have been received from other treatment facilities, including in other states.
But owners of many Malibu treatment centers said the top priority was to keep their employees. Disaster insurance generally covers workers' wages only when employers can prove that their activities have been disrupted.
"It's one thing to find a new building, but patients come and go," said Dr. Chaudhri. "Losing your staff and having to rehire and retrain would be a huge setback. Layoffs will be expensive at these facilities. "
Garrett Braukman, executive director of the Alta Centers in Hollywood Hills, said he was reviewing the résumés of caregivers laid off by companies grappling with the financial burden created by the Woolsey Fire. He said that it was already a difficult time for the sector, which faces increased scrutiny of media and lawmakers about questionable business practices and what he called "bad players".
"A lot of very good, long-time players were in Malibu, but many of these facilities are gone," he said. "We all gathered around them, we wanted them to rebuild."
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