I don’t know what mix of politics, administration, private companies, private interests, public barrages, budget cuts, extremely wealthy and influential individuals, petty communities and neighborhood associations has cemented a status quo the size of Jupiter, but despite us knowing exactly how to fix this fire problem, despite the fucking fire problem showing up stronger and stronger every decade, here we are.
Journalists doing a great job at educating, as usual.
Tuesday morning, 6:30am. On my bicycle, I’m expecting the usual 8°C/40sF but the wind is gnarly and warm. Very warm. Great! The sky is clear, the sun is rising in all its glory.
10am. I see some smoke far away. 11am. The smoke is so massive, the wind is still so brutal and warm that we all get to sense that this is going to be an absolute massacre in those canyons.
Wednesday morning, 6:30am. On my bicycle, smoke smell. Brown horizon, 360°. Wind, ashes. I’m 20 miles away. The sun rises over my basketball court, red as a tomato. The wind is still strong, traffic lights are down, people are losing it.
More fires start. Coworkers leaving one by one. Weird sight of those new moving mountains, far away.
This morning, 6:30am. On my bicycle, it’s back to 5°C/40°F and my hands are freezing. My body loves dry weather but that’s three days in a row with 5-10% humidity in the air, it feels a bit stiff.
Remote work life. White smoke everywhere in the back. Went to skate, it felt good but it was hard. I drank 6 or 8 liters of water today.
Why am I building a modest concrete house with a green roof? Well.
But dear Angelenos, we’ve got to do better. It’s truly embarrassing.