Good morning. It’s Wednesday, Jan. 15.
- Fire victims talked about the objects they lost.
- The extraordinary fight to save the Getty Museum.
- And controversial casino project in Sonoma County.
Los Angeles on fire
1.
Winds fell short of expectations in Southern California on Tuesday, granting firefighters a small reprieve, but they were forecast to intensify on Wednesday, packing gusts of up to 70 mph. The unprecedented losses from two major blazes, meanwhile, came into sharper focus. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who took an aerial tour, called the destruction “unimaginable.” Erik Scott, a fire captain, said it was the city’s most devastating natural disaster ever: “I’ve worked here for 20 years and I’ve never seen nor imagined devastation to be this extensive.” L.A. Times | A.P.
- The helicopter reporter Chris Cristi captured a remarkable aerial view of Altadena reduced to ash. 👉 @abc7chriscristi
- By early Wednesday, containment crept up to 18% for the Palisades fire near the coast and 35% for the Eaton fire in the San Gabriel Mountains. Track the blazes.
2.
Last Friday, two days after flames tore through Pacific Palisades, the growing inferno took a sudden turn north and east, making a run at the communities of Encino and Brentwood. This time though, a squadron of firefighting aircraft, which had earlier been grounded by high winds, was at the ready. For 24 hours, they launched an all-out attack, refilling quickly at nearby Encino Reservoir. “There was no break in the firefight,” said Jim Hudson, an incident commander. Flight trackers captured the frenetic activity that saved the communities. L.A. Times
3.
Thousands of people lost their homes in the Los Angeles wildfires. Many others lost their livelihoods, including untold numbers of nannies, gardeners, and housekeepers. The Palisades fire destroyed 10 of the homes where Carol Mayorga and her husband worked as housekeepers for 20 years. The disaster left her with a terrible mix of emotions, she said: sorrow for the families who helped her build a life far from her native Guatemala and anxiety about her future. “They lost their homes,” she said, “and we lost our income.” L.A. Times
- A GoFundMe for Mayorga grew to more than $8,000 as of early Wednesday.
4.
Old home movies, a crate of journals, a father’s paintings, a daughter’s ceramic sculpture.
People whose homes burned in Los Angeles talked about the objects they most regretted losing. Victoria Morris, a ceramist, said she lost both her business and her home. “I had a beautiful pottery studio and showroom,” she said. “I dedicated my life to it. We left with next to nothing. My life history feels erased.” Curbed
5.
About 80 people have defied orders to evacuate the still-smoldering neighborhoods of Altadena, staying behind the yellow caution tape to protect what is left of their properties. The Wall Street Journal reports:
“Residents patrol streets and interrogate strangers, living in a Hobbesian world without electricity or clean drinking water. Some are armed. … ‘We do feel like we’re in the Wild West,’ said Aaron Lubeley, a 53-year-old lawyer who is one of the holdouts and serves as an unofficial emissary with police and fire representatives.”
6.
The J. Paul Getty Museum faced down wildfires in 2009 and 2017. Over time, the country’s richest museum has spent millions fortifying the architecture of its two campuses — the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades and the Getty Center in Brentwood. As the latest inferno raged, the museum dispatched a small army of workers who have patrolled the surrounding hillsides, fire extinguishers in hand, in round-the-clock shifts. The flames came within 6 feet of the villa, but both locations appear to be riding out the ongoing disaster. Wall Street Journal
7.
The tragedy in Los Angeles has been accompanied by a drumbeat of falsehoods from political figures on television and online. Dinesh D’Souza spread the claim that Oregon fire engines en route to Los Angeles were delayed to undergo emissions tests. (Didn’t happen). Donald Trump suggested efforts to protect a California Delta fish set the stage for the wildfires. (Nonsensical). Elon Musk endorsed the conspiracy theory that the wildfires were “part of a larger globalist plot” to topple the U.S. Misinformation drives are rarely done without a purpose, noted columnist Anita Chabria. In this case? “Moving forward actual policies that are going to hurt the people of California.” L.A. Times
8.
Riva-Melissa Tez wrote about “the slow death of the California dream” in The Spectator:
“California’s state leaders no doubt hope to avoid accountability by portraying themselves as victims of circumstance. … This storyline is dishonest at best and evil at worst. Empty fire hydrants, crumbling infrastructure, uncleared bush and rampant poverty cannot be attributed to global warming.”
9.
Other wildfire developments:
- A photo of a retro blue Volkswagen van that survived amid the ashes in Malibu, pictured above, circulated widely online, delighting viewers. “There is magic in that van,” its owner told the Associated Press.
- As winds were building on Jan. 7, the L.A. Fire Department opted not to order roughly 1,000 firefighters to remain on duty or deploy dozens of water-carrying engines. A former battalion chief portrayed that as a costly mistake. L.A. Times
- A “person of interest” in a blaze that erupted north of Calabasas last week was a convicted felon who was in the country illegally, authorities said. Juan Manuel Sierra, 33, had a blowtorch when he was arrested. L.A. Times
- Ron Rivlin, who owns a gallery in West Hollywood, said he lost about 30 works by Andy Warhol and dozens more by other artists when his Pacific Palisades home burned. N.Y. Times
Statewide
10.
California withdrew requests for federal approval to set stricter limits on pollution from trucks, locomotives, and ocean-going ships on the assumption that they would be denied under President-elect Donald Trump. Environmental Protection Agency officials said the agency ran out of time to review the requests. California regulators expressed dismay but took consolation from the approval of a more ambitious request last month, which authorized the state to ban new gas-powered cars by 2035. Trump has vowed to revoke it. N.Y. Times | CalMatters
11.
The Biden administration on Monday green-lighted a 90-member tribe’s proposal to build a $600 million casino resort on the site of a former vineyard in Sonoma County over the objections of local officials and neighboring tribes. The proposal by Koi Nation in 2022 set off a fierce backlash as locals warned that the 790,000-square-foot casino and hotel would upend their quiet community. The nearby Graton Rancheria said the bid by Koi Nation, whose ancestral lands are in Lake County, amounted to an illegal land grab. Press Democrat
12.
Grown men are riding children’s tricycles around San Francisco’s blacktops and fighting over giant yoga balls. Sportsball, as it’s called, is the city new favorite sport. “Biggest rule: Butt stays in the seat” of the tricycle, Glenn Black, the game’s inventor, told a group of players on a recent Thursday. “What if I accidentally knock someone off their trike?” a man in rainbow tights asked. “You should say sorry and pause before continuing,” Black replied. The San Francisco Chronicle has video.
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The California Sun is written by Mike McPhate, a former California correspondent for the New York Times.
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