This has been a devastating week for our City of Angels. The Palisades Fire ravaged my community with devastating consequences. Hillside areas have historically been subjected to the impacts of wildfires, many of which have been intensified due to the effect of climate change. But there is nothing that could have prepared us for what we experienced on Tuesday, January 7, when an unprecedented windstorm with life threatening gusts stormed through SoCal. It wasn’t long before these winds screamed through the area and set off a wildfire that consumed entire neighborhoods.
In my home in West Malibu, I sat riveted to the TV, watching the uncontrolled fire force members of my community to flee their homes with nothing more than the clothes on their backs not knowing whether they would ever return to their normal existence. Images of traffic bottlenecks flashed on screen as residents abandoned their vehicles choosing to escape on foot when the flames got too close. Screeching sirens announced that we were watching a natural disaster of epic proportions.
The Palisades Wildfire raged about 15 miles from my home consuming much of the Pacific Palisades community and East Malibu, and I couldn’t help wondering when, and if, it would turn its attention in my direction. After all, this was not our first rodeo. We survived the Woolsey Wildfire in 2018 when we fled our home as the flames reached the ivy-covered chain-link fence on our property line. Back then, we raced down the canyon catching sight of flames exploding in the rearview mirror, confident we would never see our home again. But the wildfire gods chose to save our home. Twenty other neighbors weren’t so lucky.
All those memories flooded my mind as Palisades Fire reminded me how vulnerable my community is. In all my years leading emergency management operations for Los Angeles County Public Works, I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s hard to wrap my head around the devastation and the images take my breath away. The scorching events of this week serve as a reminder that we all walk a razor’s edge between security and danger, good and evil, light and darkness.
This will most likely not be the last time we are humbled by Mother Nature teaching us that life can change in an instant. Today is a spectacular day with bright sunrays that bounce off the crystalline ocean waters which remind us why we moved out here in the first place. And perhaps that is the lesson to be tucked away as we trudge along on our journey towards resilience.