When the World is On Fire
A Love Letter to Los Angeles + Community
Hello dear ones,
The last week I’ve watched as fires rage on in Los Angeles. For most of my life, I watched natural disasters from the safety of my home in Canada. We have natural disasters there too (fires that rage in Alberta and British Columbia, ice storms and snow storms that knock out power lines), but it’s not the same as being in a city that is, quite literally, on fire.
I have a friend who has lost their home and the majority of their possessions, and another friend who had to evacuate and doesn’t know when they’ll be able to go home. Some of my friends have left the city for cleaner air and safer conditions, some have evacuated and returned home, and others, like me, have been lucky enough to stay where we are.
Parts of the city have been decimated. As someone who doesn’t really understand numbers, measurements, or scale, I knew that the fires were big, but just not quite HOW big. Until I saw this image:
As I sit and write this on Sunday evening, the Palisades fire is now 23,713 acres and the Eaton fire just over 14K.
Over the past few days, I’ve watched reporters compare aerial shots of the Pacific Palisades and the city of Altadena to “war zones. Of course, there has been no acknowledgment of how the bombing of Gaza is directly connected to the wildfires in LA through imperialism, colonialism, and the climate disaster they bring with them. And just to be clear: the decimation of Palestine is inextricably linked to a desire for oil — and it’s oil greed that has played an integral role in the climate change behind these fires. I watch the news and I feel like that meme of the guy from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia: why can’t you see how these man-made crises are linked???
With winds picking back up on Monday, I fear that we’re in for another round of new fires — who knows where this time. My to-go bag is still packed and ready, and I have an evacuation plan in place with some friends. We’re all hoping it won’t come to that.
Amidst the heartbreak and devastation, I feel gratitude for my safety and so much hope through the acts of community care and mutual aid that I’ve witnessed and been a part of. I’m reminded again of how “community works faster than government.” (At the end of this post, I’ll share some different mutual aid lists so that you can figure out how to support the direct actions, whether you’re within or outside of LA.)
The way that mutual aid orgs have mobilized in the wake of ongoing fires been nothing short of magic. As I helped sort clothing donations with Food Not Bombs on Friday, I got to witness this magic in action. And, as my friend Joy reminds me, we’re gonna need first responders, second responders, third responders, and eternity responders.
In times of crisis, we need each other more than ever. Interdependence, mutual aid, and community care are threats to the capitalist, colonialist status quo because the powers that be want us to be fragmented. This is why they uplift the myth of the individual, which promotes the idea that we should just be able to pick ourselves up by the bootstraps and dust ourselves off. They know that we’re so much more powerful together. It is a radical act to acknowledge that we all deserve to live in a world where community care is the norm, a world where we cherish our interdependence.
How to Support Folks Impacted by the Fires
LA Fires Master Mutual Aid Directory: a comprehensive living collection of essential directories and resources needed to support and help others.
LA Fires In-Person Volunteer Ops: find an organization to support!
Los Angeles Disaster Support Masterlist: This is a comprehensive one-stop-shop collection of ALL essential directories and resources for anyone looking to help, find support, or want to donate to LA Fire Relief.
GoFundMe Campaigns (for displaced Black folks form the LA fires in the historically Black neighborhood of Altadena)
Angelenos Rebuild Volunteer Crew: Debris clean up, brush clearance, evacuation assistance, donation drives, political action.
Thank you for this post. I am sharing it widely for several reasons, including this excellent and well organized selection of resources. 💚