You can take the girl out of California....

Watching the city of my youth burn from across the country

The thing that most people who haven’t really spent time in Southern California really don’t understand is how freaking big LA is…both the City and the County. I grew up in Santa Clarita, north of the City (and the Valley), but still within Los Angeles County. I went to college about 60 miles away, in Claremont, still within Los Angeles County, if only barely. Santa Clarita is in the middle slightly above center and to the left, and Claremont is right next to Pomona in the bottom right quadrant.

Last Wednesday, I was teaching a leadership course to higher ed IT leaders in a conference center in the greater Boston area. Inside the snack room a big screen TV tuned to CNN hung on the wall. The screen showed maps of where at least 4 fires burned, and I was pointing out to my fellow teachers and students where exactly the fires were burning relative to where I grew up. I worried that the Hurst fire would wipe out my hometown (it didn’t) and watched the Palisades fire creep ever eastward. The Eaton fire was on the route between home and college and had gobbled up parts of Pasadena.

Still, it felt far away. As I started to think about where friends and family lived, where I’d spent time in my high school and college years, the dread rose. Is this friend ok? What about that cousin? I didn’t have many answers, and social media wasn’t helping. Whatever this series of fires would bring, however, I knew they could touch my family. My uncle lost his home last month in a wildfire in Camarillo (north-west of LA on the coast).

Then I started reading the conspiracy propaganda. And I realized most people had absolutely no fucking clue about Los Angeles…how big it is…what the climate is like, and what a hurricane of fire looks like.

So…a couple things to consider.

Conditions: Southern California usually has a rainy season starting in about October. There has been NO rain this season, after the flooding of last year’s atmospheric river. That just means there’s more bone-dry vegetation. Before the fires even started, city, county and state officials had fire fighters poised and waiting to jump on any fire that might start. Yes, they planned ahead. But that wasn’t enough.

Hurricane force winds were blowing from the desert in the East (they’re called Santa Ana winds, and they always brought me migraines with them). The key part of that is that these winds are hot and very very low humidity. So combine the dry vegetation with the dry hurricane without rain, and a fire (or 5) ignites. Immediately the embers rise and blow fire to nearby hillsides and homes like a blowtorch (seriously…look at some of the videos). In Los Angeles, houses are built into the foothills of several mountain ranges, and then across the valleys to the foothills on the other side. Now think of at least 5, but closer to 10 fires burning all at the same time…not in wilderness, but in one of the most densely populated cities in the world, sprawled out for hundreds of miles. Here is a video of the embers.

The City of Los Angeles is humongous. Check out a map with various other American cities overlaid. Did you ever think one city could be the size of some of America’s larger cities, COMBINED?

And this isn’t even all of LA County. I bet you didn’t know that LA County has more people than most states. The states in blue below are entire states that have fewer people than Los Angeles County. The state of California has the same population as CANADA!

So, not a single water system on the planet would be enough to handle all these fires all at once. But there is enough water. And help has come from multiple states, Canada, and Mexico. The Biden administration is on top of recovery efforts. I have no idea what’ll happen after January 20.

You can read all the harrowing stories. But here’s what I know. My oldest friend in the world had just lost her dad and the shiva was interrupted by evacuation orders. A college friend managed to make it to her sister’s, but she doesn’t know if her house is still standing. Another college friend is in the area the fire’s moving right now, and I have no idea whether her family is ok or not. I have a young cousin by marriage getting a PhD from Caltech, and her shared apartment in Altadena burned to the ground. My husband’s first cousins live in West Hollywood, and they narrowly escaped the Hollywood fire, but the Palisades fire is marching east. And on and on. The winds still rage. The embers still fly.

Only a small number of the victims are rich celebrities…they just have a platform. Most of the people losing their homes and their jobs are regular folks (LA is full of them, despite the rumors to the contrary). Altadena was the first middle class Black neighborhood in LA and many of the houses pass down the generations. Even in the Palisades, some folks bought their houses 50-60 years ago for $50k…those aren’t rich people and they don’t live in mansions.

In fact, any 1000 square foot house in Los Angeles, even in the most prosaic of neighborhoods, is at least a $1m. So for those of you out there where a million dollar house is a mansion, that’s not the case in Los Angeles. Those are houses that would be under $200k in many parts of the country.

And, when someone on social media says, why don’t they just rebuild in the areas not at risk for wildfires, you can know that there isn’t such a place in any of California. The warming of the planet has made every season fire season, up and down the state, on the coast, in the valleys, and in the deserts. And California is the most populous state in the nation.

So as I sit here snug in my warm house with snow on the ground outside, I’m weeping for the city of my youth, my friends, my family, and all the folks who have just lost everything. I’m thinking about what would be in my go-bag. I’ve ordered a fire/water proof document bag, which is coming today. And I’m thinking about taking video of every room in my house. Because fire in California isn’t the worst of what’s coming. This catastrophe has already started and will only get worse.

Here’s where you can find facts about the fires: https://gavinnewsom.com/california-fire-facts/

And here’s where you can help:

Donate to the Red Cross

The American Red Cross is on the ground supporting Southern California residents, the organization said on Wednesday. The Red Cross is working to provide safe shelter, food, emotional support and health services to those affected by the fires. Learn more about how the American Red Cross is providing help amid the wildfires here.

To support Red Cross Disaster Relief with a donation, you can visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. The donation, the organization says, will help them prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters.

Donate to United Way of Greater Los Angeles

United Way focuses on longer-term recovery efforts to support members of the community, and the group said it is working with its community partners to assess the impact on the ground in the Los Angeles area. You can donate to support United Way's efforts here.

Donate to Emergency Network Los Angeles

Emergency Network Los Angeles, Inc., provides assistance to people affected by disasters. ENLA is a legally registered 501(c)(3) funded by grants, member dues and donations. Find more information and how to donate here.

Give to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is working with government agencies, nonprofit and faith-based partners and others to respond to the fires throughout Los Angeles County. They are accepting food donations between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. at its two distribution centers: 1734 East 41st Street, Los Angeles, California 90058, and 2300 Pellissier Place, Industry, California 90601.

The Food Bank is also accepting volunteers. If you'd like to volunteer, find more information here.

California Community Foundation

California Community Foundation was founded in 1915 to support Los Angeles County communities. The organization has resources for fundholders and donors interested in supporting recovery efforts. Its Wildfire Recovery Fund exists to support long-term solutions for fire-prone communities to prepare for fires.

Donate to California Fire Foundation

The California Fire Foundation is working with local fire agencies and community-based organizations to provide direct financial support to impacted residents as details of the damage emerge. Learn more about the CFF Wildfire and Disaster Relief Fund and how your donation supports victims here.

Support the LAFD

The LAFD Foundation provides vital equipment and funds critical programs to help the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Donate pet supplies to Pasadena Humane

Pasadena Humane posted on Facebook that it is looking for donations of food and water bowls, extra large crates and blankets for the more than 100 animals they have taken in for emergency boarding amid wildfire evacuations.

The group is also seeking people willing to foster animals, especially larger dogs, amid the emergency. Find more information on how to help here.

Give to World Central Kitchen

World Central Kitchen, founded by chef Jose Andres, provides fresh meals to communities in need worldwide.

World Central Kitchen’s Relief Team is in Southern California to support first responders and families impacted by wildfires. Find out more about the organization and how to donate here.

Give to the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles

The YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles is offering services is offering emergency supplies, childcare and shelter. Additionally, they're offering help with replacing government documents such as a driver’s license, Medi-Cal cards, CalFresh cards and more. Learn more here.

Donate to Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE)

CORE is a global humanitarian organization launched in 2010 to respond to the devastating Haiti earthquake. The group now works with local community organizations in areas hit by disasters worldwide to provide short- and long-term help and recovery, with a particular focus on underserved communities.

CORE is responding to the Southern California wildfires, and you can donate here.

What to know about giving through GoFundMe

GoFundMe has centralized all fundraisers related to the wildfires.

The crowdfunding site has a California Wildfire Relief Fund that will be distributed to people seeking help through GoFundMe fundraisers and nonprofits providing relief, the company said.