Styrian in Los Angeles

Grammy winner prepares for evacuation

Illko can see the forest fire in Pacific Palisades from his neighborhood.

(Bild: Markus Illko)

Grammy winner Markus Illko from Kapfenberg is experiencing the bushfire raging in Los Angeles. "It really is as bad as it looks," says the musician, who has prepared for an evacuation.

It is Friday, 10.30 a.m. local time in Los Angeles, when the "Krone" reaches him. Markus Illko has packed his bags, filled up the car with gas and planned the evacuation. "The fire in the Pacific Palisades district is currently about three kilometers away from our house," says the native of Kapfenberg, who lives in Santa Monica. "We have to keep a constant eye on the situation via an app. It doesn't look rosy." 

Nobody in the "City of Angels" is currently living a normal everyday life. "The smoke is so thick, you can't open a window or go outside. Schools are closed, public areas are closed. Of course, many people can't get to work." Rehearsals, says Illko, "are more like group therapy". 

The fire out of Illko's sight

(Bild: Markus Illko)

Born in Styria, Markus Illko lives in Los Angeles. He won a Grammy in February 2024 (archive photo).

(Bild: Chaluk)

Many friends and acquaintances affected
Ten thousand burnt-down houses - for Illko and many others, that's not just a number, it's fate. "On Sunday, I was still visiting friends in a house that no longer exists. It's all been wiped out, an area the size of Manhattan." The Americans do tend to exaggerate from time to time. "But this time it really is as bad as it looks."

There is a lot of solidarity. Everyone I know is opening their homes to those who have lost theirs. It's a huge tragedy.

Markus Illko, steirischer Musiker in Los Angeles

Most of his acquaintances are staying with family and friends, says the guitarist, who studied in Graz. Not all of them are super-rich and world stars. "Yes, the area is expensive - but only a small proportion are really rich. There are people who bought a house in Palisades 30 or 40 years ago, when prices were even lower. Many have put their entire fortune into a house, and many fire insurance policies have already been canceled."

One ray of hope in these difficult times is the cohesion in society. "Americans stick together in a situation like this and are very combative." The fire is certainly not the end of the world-famous city, as some are already predicting.