But by then the winds were impossible anyway.
For me as a reporter, it was really heart-wrenching because we couldnt do our jobs.
This is what lies at the heart of local news: true empathy and personal connection.
A firefighter battles the Sunset Fire on January 8.Getty Images
I ask how he handled telling them, and he pauses for a second.
That was hard, he says.
Says Sternfield: These are times when local news media is at its best.
Chris Cristi, the evening AIR7 HD helicopter reporter for ABC7 Eyewitness News in Los Angelesabc7chriscristi Instagram
Thats because we not only cover the communities we serve, but we alsolive in them.
But cutbacks to local news have been brutal in recent years.
Its changed a lot, says Cristi, who has been a helicopter reporter in L.A. for a decade.
Its been eye-opening to me, how many people are not watching this on TV at all.
A lot of people I talk to are relying on YouTube to watch ABC7 and other stations.
Its changing in real time.
User engagement is vital to keeping it alive until we figure out how to get the revenues back up.
Were navigating with the pilot who is doing nothing but concentrating on flying the helicopter safely.
And then Im in the front gathering information.
This is the way people get sometimes lifesaving information.
Cristi says he has been flooded with emails and messages from viewers.
Its been really touching, he says.
And our viewers hang on every word during times like this.
