Sad fires
This past week has been a lot about fire and watching it take down large swaths and neighborhoods of the Los Angeles basin. As I sit writing this, I’m up in an area that’s wet and wetter — i.e., Seattle. But I lived in L.A. for 20+ years. I know those neighborhoods. I had friends there, places I’d visit. Now: GONE.
Same with Lahaina. Similar types of fast-moving fires.
For anyone politicizing the event or gloating for the liberals who are getting their just “do” from the big man upstairs? I say this: Ask not for whom climate change tolls, it tolls for thee.
There are no longer safe spaces of refuge from the weird weather patterns. They are everywhere and getting worse with each passing day. Ya wanna live in Florida? Stay toward the middle. Otherwise, you’ll be “hurricaned” or flooded out. Wanna live in the Mid-West? Good luck with the tornados and the wild straight-line storms (where winds can reach 80 mph). This doesn’t mention the hail damage or the flooding.
But the Fires in L.A.? This isn’t even the SEASON for fires to take hold. It’s supposed to be wet, not dry.
There are victims interviewed saying they’re just glad to be alive. And that’s true, no doubt. There’s that hackneyed saying that goes: “You can replace things, you can’t replace people.” Or pets… or memories… or cherished belongings. Except THAT’s what people lost. They lost all of it. And they lost it all in an afternoon with little warning in a panic.
Imagine that was you. How’d that work? Yes, you’re alive. But homes are like trusted friends. They’re our havens, our buddies. They have character. They shelter, contain, protect. They represent some very deep aspect of ourselves. And it’s all gone in the blink of an hour on a Tuesday.
In Buddhism and Yoga, there’s the sage advice to not attach to much in your life for all that you love and cherish dies, it changes, or it falls away over time. And certainly, this is true. But this is frigid comfort to a victim of these fires.
And lest you think you’re immune, think again. This can easily be you if you’re in the wrong area at the wrong time.
My guess is these fires will trigger an investigation. Cause will be determined. Someone, something will get the blame. But (and this might be controversial), I suspect the blame lies in decades of neglect, assumptions, and a lack of planning for the worst outcomes. “That won’t happen here,” tends to be a motto. Or worse!: “That might happen here, but we don’t want to pay for the changes needed to protect the population and property. We’ll just assume the risk.” People in power tend to swap out. One person might come in a vision for attending to the changes needed only to be replaced by another who kills it. “Too expensive,” “too hard,” “too bureaucratic.”
But that kind of short-term thinking won’t work any longer — not in our every-changing environment.
So I feel deep empathy for the victims of these fires. They’ve lost not only their homes, memories, and everything they had, but they likely cannot move back. It’ll be too expensive. Insurance stopped covering fires for a lot of homeowners over a year ago in that area. This just adds insult to injury.
I’ve written songs about climate change. I’ve got another one coming. It’s on the top of my mind precisely because of fires like the ones out in L.A. now. But it’s not just the fires. It’s the storms, the rains, the droughts, the heat domes. And it’s everywhere.
Again: Ask not for whom climate change tolls, it tolls for all of us.
And we need significant changes to deal with it.
🙏
(2 of 52)