About 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, I looked out my living room window to observe the wind blasting through the trees. I couldn’t believe my eyes.
Five miles as the crow flies, I saw a bright orange fire so thick it resembled lava burning down the mountainside near Eaton Canyon. The popular hiking spot is a 20-minute drive northeast of where I live, so I never thought of it as very close. I knew being able to see the Eaton fire so vividly meant it had to be very bad. Another one of our collective nightmares was coming true.
L.A. had already watched with terror as the Palisades fire exploded Tuesday afternoon. I know we all prayed to any deity who would listen that everyone could escape in time. Like many of you, I am presently waiting to learn whether several dear friends have lost their homes in the fires. I know already of two, a sweet pal who thankfully left with his cats and a family with small children who got out in time.
Wildfire smoke from the Palisades and Eaton fires blanket Los Angeles County prompting school closures and triggering air quality advisories across the region.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Only four months ago, the outdoors community mourned the homes and harm that the Bridge, Line and Airport fires brought to Southern California. I let myself believe, after those cataclysmic fires, we were done with fire season (despite the fact we’re in desperate need of rain).
But, as climate change worsens, can we ever feel done with a year’s fire season? I don’t know. At this very moment, my grieving heart feels like this destructive form of wildfire is always just around the corner.
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I was just up at Tongva Peak on Saturday, a hike I was doing for what was supposed to be this week’s Wild, looking out at Tujunga, La Cañada Flintridge and nearby foothill communities now in the evacuation zone. How many people lost their homes? What’s left of Millard Canyon and nearby trails? Did the owls and newts and alligator lizards I noticed on recent hikes make it out?
To stop spiraling into despair, I will often practice gratitude. I’m not quite there yet. But, I do want us to start talking about how we Wilders can help. I know you love the mountains as much as I do, and I know you want to help our neighbors — the humans, trees and critters.
Because the fires are still actively burning, we don’t know the extent of the damage, but please keep an eye out for community cleanups. In the mean time, please steer clear of the wildlands affected by this week’s fires. We want to give first responders the space to do their jobs. And we’re still at risk of other fires breaking out.
Greg Voorhies douses smoldering vegetation while trying to stop a neighbors house from igniting on Sinaloa Ave. as the Eaton Fire continues to grow.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
My colleague Karen Garcia has started a list of ways to help that she will update as we learn more. Organizations have started sharing mutual aid efforts, including the Mutual Aid L.A. Network, which has put together this spreadsheet that includes free shelter, supplies and food. If you know of a group offering help, add them to the list!
Additionally, Bike Oven, a community-run organization, is hosting a supplies drive for those affected by the Eaton fire. Escalemos launched a GoFundMe to help Southern California climbers who lost their homes and gear. Lagartijas Climbing Crú is hosting a gear drive.
People are still organizing to help communities affected in the September fires as well. If you’d like to help relief efforts in Mt. Baldy, which burned in the Bridge fire, there is a fundraiser here.
Lastly, in the coming months, consider joining a trail crew or other volunteer group restoring trails harmed by fire. You can find a list of groups in L.A. County here.
The must-read
A firefighter battles a house fire as the Palisades Fire burns in Malibu Tuesday.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)
At least five people have died and more than 2,000 structures, including many homes, have been destroyed by fires this week in L.A. County. The Times has a massive team of journalists working to cover the fires breaking out across Southern California. You can follow their work here. They are watching staffing to ensure firefighters have the support they need to keep going, keeping tabs on the status of cultural gems in the fires’ paths and asking hard but fair questions about the response times and approach in firefighting.
This is one of a number of hard weeks we’ve experienced as an outdoors community in L.A. Please take time to talk to your friends, family and therapist about how you’re doing, and once its safe, go outside and appreciate all we have today.
Take care of each other,
P.S.
The air quality in and around L.A. is horrendous right now. Please take a moment to learn how you can protect your home and lungs from the pollutants circulating in the air because of the wildfires.
For more insider tips on Southern California’s beaches, trails and parks, check out past editions of The Wild. And to view this newsletter in your browser, click here.