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    After A Wildfire, Making A Holiday Among The Ashes

    Hundreds of families in Southern California who have lost their homes to the Thomas fire are trying to find a way to celebrate Christmas.
    by Leila Fadel Dec 20, 2017 3 minutes
    Christmas decorations illuminate a house as the growing Thomas Fire advances toward Santa Barbara County seaside communities.

    This was supposed to be the Ekblad family's first Christmas in their new home, a four-bedroom near a park in Ventura, Calif. that they stretched their budget to buy. 32-year-old Allie Ekblad says she was ready for the holiday: for once, she had finished Christmas shopping early for her husband Matt, 2-year-old Jace and 8-month old Ava.

    "The one year I'm ahead of everything," she sighs. "I had everyone done, including the kids, stockings, the extended family. All done."

    Now the Ekblads are scrambling to re-create this year's Christmas preparations - and everything else in

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