Hometown Connection: Appleton native Michael Sajbel shares his personal ties to Los Angeles, where he built his film career and owns a home. Wildfire Impact: Sajbel describes the apocalyptic scenes, including homes lost and the broader devastation affecting jobs and communities. Helping Hands: Offering his Los Angeles home to two displaced families, Sajbel emphasizes the importance of support and resilience in rebuilding the city.(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)While film director Michael Sajbel calls Appleton home, his careerand part of his heartare rooted in Los Angeles. Now, he watches in devastation as the city he considers his "other home" struggles to recover from catastrophic wildfires.It was apocalyptic, Sajbel said.Sajbel shared an image from his flight out of Los Angeles on Wednesday, capturing haunting images of the destruction below. We flew out over the city, and it was dark, he said. I looked down out of the plane window, and theres SoFi Stadiumwhere the Packers played the Rams just a few weeks agobut you could barely see it through the smoke. A lot of good friends lost their homes.Sajbel, who grew up in Appleton, spends much of his time in Los Angeles, where he works in the film industry and owns a home.I got there last Friday, and everything was normal, Sajbel said. But by Sunday night, the winds started howling, with gusts up to 90-100 mph. Huge clouds formed in the west, but they werent rain cloudsthey were clouds of fire.Though Sajbels home remains intact, he said friends in the Pacific Palisades are facing significant losses.This morning, I was on a Zoom call with two guys whove already lost their houses, and others are on evacuation warnings, he said. It was ethereal.To support those in need, Sajbel has opened his Los Angeles home to two families whose homes were destroyed.Beyond his personal connections, Sajbel is concerned about the broader impact on the community.The stores that burned down, the people who worked in those stores, the jobs that are goneits just overwhelming, he said. I dont think we even fully understand the devastation yet. Its almost as if a nuclear bomb went off.Despite the challenges, Sajbel believes Los Angeles will rebuild.Its going to take time and help from others, he said. But the city will come back strong.