Whether we are old or young, whether it’s buried gold and X marks the spot, or metaphysical rewards in the form of knowledge and happiness, the word treasure has the power to stir the imagination and conjure visions of wonder and wonderful things. Join us in the search for hidden things in Jimmy P. Morgan’s feature on an epic, modern day treasure hunt; Saori Wall’s look at a filmmaker’s journey to find the hidden treasures of Antarctica, and Claire Fordham’s reflections on a poet who finds the secrets of the human heart hidden within words. It’s a TNT treasure hunt! Cover illustration, concept and design by Urs Baur
The New Year had barely arrived when fire erupted on the Pacific Palisades side of Topanga State Park. Fire crews responded at 12:17 am on January 1 to a three-acre blaze near Via Las Palmas and Via La Costa. The fire spread uphill at 15 mph to cover approximately nine acres. A quick air response and activation of 69 Bravo—LA County’s state-of-the-art helicopter water refill station above Topanga—helped stop the fire from spreading any further. Six homes were threatened, but there were no damaged structures, and no injuries were reported.
Wildfire risk remains extremely high. As Topanga New Times goes to press with our first issue of 2025 we are expecting Southern California Edison to pull the plug on a wide swath of customers throughout not just the Santa Monica Mountains but also wildland areas like Acton.
It’s easy to become inured to the perpetual PSPS—public safety power shutoff—notifications and wind warnings, especially when those things mercifully fail to materialize, but the fire risk is real, and until the winter rains arrive, everyone who lives in the danger zone needs to be prepared to evacuate at any time.
The winds are expected to return next week, and no potential rain is in the forecast until after January 20 at the earliest. The National Weather Service is one of the agencies targeted by the incoming Trump Administration. We depend on this agency for fire weather monitoring as well as storm forecasts. It remains the most reliable source of weather information, at least for now. www.weather.gov. Topanga residents are encouraged to monitor TCEP.org’s emergency updates page, as well as the NWS. Keeping a “Go Bag” with clothing, medicine and other essentials by the door, and important documents and family treasures in an easy to access place wouldn’t be a bad idea for the next few weeks. Making sure highly flammable items like outdoor furniture cushions are stowed away, and dead leaves cleared from the roof and gutters could make the difference between a house that catches fire and one that doesn’t. We don’t know whether the winds really will arrive tomorrow, or if they will achieve the potentially devastating wind speed of 90 mph that is currently forecast, and by the time you, dear reader, are reading this, whatever happens this week will be old news, but there’s always a next time.
The dry weather and elevated fire risk is largely thanks to the weather phenomenon known as La Niña. This weather pattern has been brewing in the Pacific all throughout the fall. La Niña is is the cool phase of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which often brings Southern California warm winters and clear skies—the iconic Southern California endless summer—while much of the rest of the continent is plunged into an Arctic misery of snow, sleet and black ice. Technically, La Niña isn’t officially here yet, but the weather has all the hallmarks of her temper tantrums.
Fortunately for California’s water supply, ample snow is falling in the Northern half of the Sierras, resulting in a promising snowpack. Unfortunately, the storm systems bringing that snow are being diverted away from the southern half of the state by a persistent ridge of high pressure. Until things change, we are stuck with summer in January, and fire in the forecast instead of rain.
Despite a somewhat anxious start to the new year, we are looking ahead to good things in the coming months. In January, with the old year disappearing in the rear view mirror and twelve months ahead unwritten and full of potential, one can’t help but feel one’s spirits lift, no matter what. The upcoming Presidential Inauguration may fill some with a sense of existential dread, but the date it falls on this year is the day that celebrates something else, the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. That the two things coincide in this particular year, at this specific inflection point in history is a curious coincidence, but its also a reminder that no matter who is in power or what they stand for, there will always be those who stand up for what is right, and good, and important. “MLK famously said, “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends towards justice.” They remain words of hope in a strange time.
Happy New Year from all of us at TNT! We’re glad to be sharing the adventure that is 2025 with you, our readers, no matter what it brings!
Stay safe, be well.
