How a week of fires changed the city of Los Angeles

California had been preparing for the catastrophe for years. The authorities anticipated that this was going to be caused by an earthquake, but it was finally a series of fires that have changed the face of Los Angeles, the main city of the State. The fires have destroyed more than 12,000 structures in one week. Residences, businesses, temples and historical monuments to the east and west of the emblematic city have ceased to exist. The most conservative calculations, still preliminary, indicate that the amount of damage amounts to around $25 billion.

There are some losses that cannot be recovered. This is the case of the ranch of Will Rogers, a celebrity at the beginning of the last century who became a keen commentator on American politics. Rogers wrote thousands of columns in national newspapers between 1916 and until 1935, when he died in a plane crash in Alaska. His luxurious property was donated by his widow to the State in 1944. For decades it has been one of the most visited public parks west of Los Angeles. His ranch house, with 31 rooms, was converted into a museum and housed his collection. The residence was reduced to ashes by the fire Palisades. Several objects from Rogers’ life, his political cartoons and cowboy accessories, were saved from the fire. The Will Rogers Foundation is putting out a call to donate and support park rangers.

Sunset Avenue, one of the most important and emblematic avenues in Los Angeles, has been seriously damaged by the fire Palisadeswhich has devastated the west of the city. At the intersection of this artery with El Medio there are two churches. On one side of El Medio there is a Lutheran church, with hardly any damage. On the east sidewalk there is a Presbyterian church, almost completely destroyed. This temple was built in 1957 on a property that was owned by Congressman Leland Ford, a legislator who publicly supported sending Japanese residents in the United States to concentration camps during World War II. Those in charge of the Pacific Palisades church have indicated that all employees evacuated safely, although they regret the destruction of their facilities. “Many in our congregation have suffered enormous losses, so we appreciate your prayers,” says the organization, which also receives donations to use for reconstruction.

Companies have begun to allocate aid for the emergency. Netflix and Comcast, NBC’s parent company, announced this Monday support of $10 million that will benefit the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, the Red Cross and the World Central Kitchen organization, led by chef José Andrés. These large donations are in addition to that of Disney, which on Saturday announced $15 million for a reconstruction fund. Fox has given a million dollars. Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase have announced that they will allow clients who have lost their homes to pause mortgage payments for up to a year or reduce monthly payments. The image above shows a Chase branch in Pacific Palisades.

The Pacific Scenic Highway, a long road that connects San Diego with San Francisco, is today miles and miles of ruins and ash as it passes north of Santa Monica. This house was located there, of which only the door frame remains standing. Several Malibu restaurants that were part of the region’s culinary scene have also been devoured by flames. Gladstones, Moonshadows, Reel Inn, or Cholada are gone, just to name a few. The owners of these businesses are studying how to recover from the tragedy. To alleviate them, the state government has decreed a tax moratorium that will allow the payment of taxes that were due this month to be delayed for nine months.

The unstoppable advance of the fires has once again brought back the debate on construction in California. In one week, the fire has consumed thousands of wooden structures, a material widely used due to its abundance and price. In 2019, 90% of houses built had wooden foundations. This is also used because the construction time is shorter than concrete houses. On average, a wooden house can be erected in 12 to 14 weeks. Brick houses, like the one shown in the photograph, also succumbed to the extreme conditions caused by the strong Santa Ana winds.

The landscape of Malibu will never be the same after the Palisade, which has devastated 9,500 hectares and whose advance has been stopped until this Monday, despite registering only 14% containment. The incident, which began on Tuesday of last week, was especially harsh on this emblematic Pacific coast. A third of this band has been damaged. The fire destroyed 12 adjoining houses on the strip of land seen in the photograph. The residences represented the most elegant lifestyle: at the foot of a beach with beautiful views frequented by surfers. That lifestyle has been reduced to ashes. The sports cars that were inside the garages are now scrap metal. The chimney is the only thing left standing in many of the mansions in the area.

This tree caught attention on a tour of the eastern Pacific Palisades area, known as the alphabet area. It was a residential neighborhood populated mostly by the middle class. The price of the lots started at one million dollars, a figure that made the neighborhood more affordable unlike other more exclusive regions of the Palisades. It was a popular place with young families. The alphabet area had shops and businesses nearby, a distance that could be covered on foot. The neighborhood was located in a practically flat area. This caused the flames to jump almost from one house to the next, barely stopping them, leaving few buildings standing.

Many of the victims have not only lost their residences. The fire has also claimed community service sites. This is the case of this church in Altadena. For 78 years, it served a wealthy population made up of Latino, black and white residents. Their congregation has shown the strength of their ties in these tragic days and met on Sunday at an alternate location, in Montebello. “Our church will always meet, until it is impossible to continue. A fire is not going to stop us,” he told Los Angeles Times Carl Whidden, the husband of the church’s pastor, Paul Tellström, who had recently announced his retirement due to Parkinson’s disease.

The photograph below is of a typical Altadena residence, a simple, wooden, single-story construction. This house located on McNally Street is surprising because the house built in the backyard shows hardly any damage. The main one, however, has disappeared in the flames of Eaton.