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Posted on by Amelia Pressman

Jim Cragg, commander of American Legion Post 283 in the Pacific Palisades, has seen unpleasant things throughout his 30 years in Army special operations around the world.

But he said the devastation left in his neighborhood was frightening and difficult to comprehend.

“I’ve seen what the world has to offer at its worst,” Cragg told NBC Los Angeles yesterday. “But my neighbors aren’t ready for that.”

“My family is not prepared for this, my 10-year-old daughter asks me, ‘Where do I go to school, Dad?'” Cragg said. “At first she thought, ‘Oh great, school’s closed’ – she has no idea. There is nothing. Every place she grew up here is gone.”

His daughter’s school, other schools, other houses are destroyed.

Cragg’s house was saved: A few years ago, after another fire nearby, he bought sprinklers that swiveled back and forth, this time placed them on the roof, sprayed his house with fire retardant and left.

Yesterday he returned to find his home and the homes of the neighbors below him intact. The road above him and up the hill was less fortunate, he said.

“I was just awake – and it’s devastating,” Cragg said. “All my neighbors on the other side lost their houses.”

He and another man, a Marine, returned to the area and used buckets to collect pool water and dump it on the roof of his home and his neighbors’ homes.

“Our house, I’m thrilled our house is standing, we have something to come back to,” Cragg said. “But this is a destroyed neighborhood.”

The American Legion Post 283, which has around 700 members, also survived. Cragg said he wants to use the space to help first responders and also community members rebuild their neighborhoods and lives.

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