It took three weeks to fully contain the Palisades fire, which erupted exactly one month ago. For those who lost homes, businesses, loved ones, the process of recovery will be slow and painful. So many are struggling with shock and grief, but at least we are beginning to move forward. In the mountains, new life is already stirring in the burn zone, bringing a welcome glimmer of green to the hills, and a glimmer of hope to human hearts. The fire is one month behind us. Recovery, regrowth, renewal, one month closer. Cover concept and design by Urs Baur
It looks like T.S. Eliot’s wasteland, “a dead land…a heap of broken images, where the sun beats, and the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief, and the dry stone no sound of water,” but out in that vast burned expanse of chaparral, life is already returning. Look carefully at the base of the skeletal plants and see the first fire-red shoots of laurel sumac, the vivid green sprouts of California wild cucumber, and the dagger-sharp leaves of the chaparral yucca, already emerging from what looks and feels like the end of the world. These are the first harbingers of renewal, a promise that the hills will be green again in spring.
Chaparral life is adapted to fire—many plants depend on it. For humans, recovering from disaster is an agonizingly slow process. It doesn’t matter how many speeches politicians make or how many things they promise, for those whose lives have been impacted the road back is long and arduous. It isn’t even that this is the proverbial marathon instead of a sprint. It’s more like a pilgrim’s progress, a weary journey through an unfamiliar landscape full of obstacles. Many of us are still wrestling with making sense of the disaster and fitting our lives back into some semblance of a recognizable pattern—whether that involves rebuilding an entire home and life, or just finally putting away the things we packed to evacuate, it’s a process and it will take time. More than ever, neighbors will need neighbors to help them through. The burden of exhaustion, sorrow, depression, and anxiety is not as heavy when there are those who can share it. As recovery gets underway, it’s important to remember that the trauma is still present. We all need to be kind to each other and to ourselves.
Recovery brings its own challenges. Topanga and Malibu residents were alarmed and dismayed to learn that the hazardous household waste from the Palisades Fire is being transported from the burn zone to the former site of the Topanga Ranch Motel for processing. Malibu residents received a second shock, when the EPA announced it wants a second site in the center of the Malibu Civic Center, adjacent to wetlands, and uncomfortably close to schools, businesses, homes and City Hall. This is a developing story, but we’ll share what we know so far.
News on road closures and re-opening also continues to change. As we go to press, PCH was open through the burn area for a couple of days, although, but is restricted to one lane in each direction and a 25 mph speed limit with many delays. The threat of rain brought another hard closure on the afternoon of February 4. Lower Topanga Canyon Blvd. remains closed from Grandview to PCH. We have more details in this issue. We also have information on tax relief, water quality, disaster-related scams, and some good news about the effort to rescue two endangered species from the burn zone.
Our focus at TNT moving forward will be on resources for recovery and the extraordinary courage and determination of our community members during this time, but we are taking one last in depth look at the fire in this issue in a special feature provided to us by photojournalist and Topanga resident Ivan Kashinsky. Ivan’s first-person photo essay appeared in Smithsonian Magazine online. He offers it here for his community to see. Although apocalyptic, his images are also eerily beautiful. This is a sensitive portrait of the fire and its impact. We are honored to share it with our readers.
For those who need a break from disaster, nature is providing a special show every evening just after sunset all month. For a brief time, all seven of Earth’s planetary neighbors will be visible in the night sky. Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn are bright and easily visible. Uranus and Neptune require a telescope or binoculars to spot. In late February, Mercury will also join the dance. The planets are always out there on their own orbits that appear to us to travel the plane the ecliptic—the path of the sun across the sky—but the opportunity to see them all at once is unusual. For ancient stargazers, a conjunction of this kind would have been an important omen, a divine message signifying a time of great change. Let’s hope it’s a change for good. We’ve had enough calamity to last for a very long time.
Stay safe, be well. Happy Valentine’s Day—remember to tell someone you love that you love them.
