@gbs I am so sorry you went through that unimaginable loss but incredible no one one was harmed including fur babies. 100% agree with each of your points. We all hold onto things for a variety of reasons. For those of us with a little too much in our closets, we can donate knowing that the things we love are being repurposed and appreciated.
Side note on storage. I use mason jars and a vacuum sealer that attaches to the top of the jar. Everything stays fresh 3x as long and the jars and lids are all reusable.
The Pacific Palisades fire MAY have been caused by the re-ignition of an old fire, according to a Washington Post analysis of images, radio communications and witness interviews. Firefighters had put out the old fire six days before the Palisades fire started. Residents believe that one was caused by New Year's Eve fireworks. Then, the Palisades fire appeared to start from the same spot.
About 30 minutes after the Palisades Fire started on Tuesday, the firefighters’ radio crackled: The flames were coming from a familiar sliver of a mountain ridge.
“The foot of the fire started real close to where the last fire was on New Year’s Eve,” said a Los Angeles County firefighter, according to a Washington Post review of archived radio transmissions.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2025/01/12/palisades-fire-origin-new-years-eve-fire/
Want a great and story about a man whose dog went missing during the Pacific Palisades fire?
This is the one you want to watch. With SOUND ON!
When the fire broke out, the man raced home from work to retrieve his dogs but was stopped by firefighters from entering the neighborhood. While he wasn't allowed in, the firefighters decided go to his house and were able to rescue one of his dogs but the other, Oreo, escaped during the attempted rescue.
The man's house burnt down and he was desperate to find Oreo who was eventually spotted near his old home by a neighbor.
Their reunification is like nothing I have ever seen.
https://www.nbcnews.com/video/man-reunites-with-missing-dog-oreo-after-palisades-fire-229092421646
@theungamer I am an Angelino and the amount of outpouring of help has been immense and emotional, to say the least. May we shine a light on what the world can accomplish if we work together rather that be divided.
As I was collecting a few things to evacuate myself and my cat, I was struck by how much “stuff” I have and how in a moment like that it was easy to decide what was most important. Definitely enlightened me on the fact I need to consume less. (I was only evacuated for one night due to the Subset fire and back home and safe)
@lyndsayt Am happy you and kitty are safe. I'm in and out of LA periodically. The food and restaurants in the area are amazing and the people are incredibly friendly and they chat. A lot of those restaurants are supporting the effort.
Thank you for your post, @cc21, and thank you for your second post, @light, that humans are living excessively, i.e., off the charts.
I also studied the Chinese five elements and agree with all but the suggestion that anger caused the LA lands to spontaneously combust. (I think you did not mean it that way.) Your mention of human excess is true. Especially greed, caused fossil fuel companies and their paid-off politicians to fuel people's beliefs that they could burn fossil fuels forever without consequences for the earth.
It's tragic and yes these are dark times, and once humans suffer enough, they will change, and revere the earth, and we will see a golden age. Humans are addicted to fossil fuels, and we have to wonder how far this addiction will cause us to crash before we end it.
Because climate change from burning fossil fuel is the undisputed cause of these extraordinary fires. And make no mistake, this and much worse is coming.
The most loving response I can have from these fires aside from sending all my love and care and help to the angelenos, is to work on bringing our carbon footprint to zero. Don't buy stuff. Eat sustainably. Use alternate means to fuel your home. Get an EV car or ride a bike to get around. That is my prayer. That is my love song to the angelenos, to humanity and the earth - we hear you, dear earth. We will do better.
@jeanne-mayell The LA fires did not 'spontaneously combust' due to humanity's anger. I'm sorry that I wasn't clear.
Mother Earth is reacting to our negative karma with winds to stir up and spread the fires that are out of control causing unprecedented damage.
Our karma has manifested the out of control fires. I wasn't referring to 'how' the fires started, but WHY the fires are out of control. This has never happened before.
I think my time is up here. Thank you.
@anya Thank you for mentioning the Red Cross! I manage blood drives for them and the things we need most right now are monetary donations, volunteers and blood donations.
Being on the ground here in LA we have lost many, many blood drives and sponsors who have future drives planned that no longer have their facilities. Every 2 seconds in the US someone needs blood so keeping the blood supply stable is imperative and Los Angeles houses one of the nations largest blood donor base.
We are recommending to donate physical items to other places where you can as we can’t take them. YMCA of Los Angeles has been making a huge difference with creating community hubs for this! One of my partners, The Magic Castle is a place for donation and hosting a community hub tomorrow for people to eat and have a place to meet and pick up items (Tuesday 1/14).
Cross posting in the Good News Network thread as well.
‘The Love in the Air Is Thicker Than the Smoke’
On the streets of L.A., Michelin-starred chefs are cooking for firefighters, boutiques are giving away clothes and a sprawling city is coming together.
Regarding the array of explanations for the true underlying cause of these fires, including the high winds (caused by climate change), I hope everyone here knows the true cause of the LA fires is climate change from fossil fuel burning.
We have now fully entered the Orwellian age of massive propaganda and disinformation. These fires are an opportunity for the public to wake up about climate change. There will be more and stronger climate events sweeping our world, and the longer each of us keep burning fossil fuels, the worse and more intractable the consequences.
The frequency and uncontrollable nature of these fires, the high winds, the parched landscape, are all caused by climate change which in turn is caused by fossil fuel burning. I pray that people who read this site will understand that fact because knowing the true cause gives us a chance to change it. I, for one, vow to lower my carbon footprint even more now.
SO very grateful and happy that your and your Kitty are safe and home again.
Yes, we can truly discover the important things. Important for how we MUST live our daily lives ( documents etc) and valued things to our spirit and family (photos, items connected to family history and special memories). Loved ones of course ( human and fur babies) being number one.
Even my mid 20 year old daughter has been walking around our home in AZ with a new perspective. She has thought deeply about GO Bags and what she would grab. After her dog of course, the most treasured item is the old 1950 era Martin guitar which my father was the original owner of and loved and taught me to play on. She taught herself how to play on it and composes her own music with it.
It is good to take mental inventory on what is most important and what isn't. Maybe it is time for all of us to do this and to let go of the extra baggage and focus on the important things. And when we lose some of the important things how to work through that lose to create new important memories and family times. To create a meaningful life.
May we all discover was to create meaningful lives, even when given ashes to work with. After all, even ashes have value. You can polish silver, make soap and compost with them.
@jeanne-mayell climate change 100 percent contributed to 100mph winds and dry weather during our “rainy season” in Los Angeles. We haven’t had rain since may here. None of this is typical.
Octavia Butler.
You are going to hear a lot about Octavia Butler in the coming days and weeks.
Widely cited as the first major black woman author of science fiction, and one of the earliest writers of climate fiction, Octavia Butler is have a moment.
In 1993, the award winning author wrote the book Parable of a Sower which was set in a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles ravaged by fires, the first which begins on February 1, 2025. Parable of a Sower is often credited as being the first Climate Fiction book written.
Set 32 years into the future from 1993, I am astounded she chose that particular natural disaster and that beginning fire date. Amazing. She also had an authoritarian candidate, running for president on the slogan " Make America Great Again". (In real life this candidate was inspired by Regan who used it, not Trump who wasn't relevant politically in 1993.)
Mind Blown right??
I had not heard about Octavia Butler until today, but boy does she appear to have been a Psychic Intuitive Sci Fi author. A climate one at that.
Once when speaking about "learning from the past", Butler wrote that history: “is filled with repeating cycles of strength and weakness, wisdom and stupidity, empire and ashes. To study history is to study humanity.” For “Parable of the Talents,” she thought about how countries could fall into autocracy and read books about Nazi Germany.
She once explained her method for seemingly predicting the future: “Look around at the problems we’re neglecting now and give them about 30 years to grow into full-fledged disasters.”
Bingo!
She once discussed her own rules for predicting the future and while logical, they also feel intuitive. Surely she was guided by intuition to observe and write about what a near future of climate change might bring when it was of little concern to much of the world.
Butler died in 2006 at the age of 58 and was buried in an Altadena cemetery which received some damage in the Altadena Eaton Fire. Her grave however remains untouched by flame.
I learned of Octavia Butler today from a local news report about a Pasadena independent bookstore named after her. ( Pasadena and Altadena share borders and schools). The bookstore houses her historical papers and was unscathed by the fire. It's currently serving as a mutual aid center for those who have lost homes or evacuated from the fires.
Earlier this past summer the bookstore owner was on the verge of closing due to financial pressure when the community rallied around her and helped her remain open. Now she is giving back.
There is something fitting about that isn't there?
Everything is connected.
https://commongood.cc/reader/a-few-rules-for-predicting-the-future-by-octavia-e-butler/
@lovendures I heard about Octavia Butler and her prophetic books this week, too. Incredible. She most definitely had her own intuition about this.
In reflecting upon the far reaching impact the LA fires have had on our nation, I’ve noticed something interesting happening.
Humanity is taking stock of what is truly important in their lives.
It’s a dig deep, soul-searching type collective shift. we are asking what is most meaningful in our lives.
We are pondering “go bags” and what we’d place inside them. We are walking through our houses taking stock of the most treasured things in our lives. After human and pet lives, we’re contemplating what we truly need and what we truly hold dear to our hearts. We’re also contemplating what impacts we’ve made while living our lives.
I’m curious what you guys have observed over the past week and a half? Are you feeling the same way? Do you notice a collective shift?
Will you put together a “go bags” in your own home now? Have you noticed a shift in how you perceive your life, your world? Do you know where your most highly cherished items are located in your home? How about survival items? Are you thinking of letting go “stuff”?
I realize I finally need to tackle the family photo /historical document/ heirloom side of life as my next project. Not only do these items need to be sorted out and organized, but I don’t want everything only residing in one place. I want things spread out amongst my own adult children so that not all our family historical items would be lost if a tragedy occurs in my home.
I needed to attend to this for years as things seem to continuously be sent my way from elder family members. I’ve actually tackled some small related projects but I need to move on a bigger ones. Finally.
I’m also reevaluating my life, home and family priorities . There is a shift on how I am viewing certain aspects and I find that interesting. It began after the election and the fires made these feelings more pronounced.
Interesting times… Interesting times.
@lovendures Thank you for this beautiful post about what matters most if we had to save things in our homes. A cousin who lives in L.A. sent me our parents, grandparents, and their parents' photos this week for safe-keeping. He wanted to be sure that they'd never be lost if his property burned down. I was so touched by this action, and it brought which we had, in a way, lost, until we realized how precious they were at the thought they could be lost.
I heard an L.A. native interviewed tonight on NPR. She said she is so proud of her beautiful incomparable city, the birth of all that Hollywood has brought to the world, a place of beautiful and light. I felt the city's light would shine brighter than ever now. I agree with you, that something beautiful and bright is emerging from these fires. Something lost gives way to something gained.
And here we go!
Remember Live AID?
We know it would happen and boy is it going to be big!
FireAid.
January 30th. Los Angeles. 2 side by side venues. Superstar music artists. All coming together to pull something HUGE off 3.5 weeks after the first fire broke out.
Stunning really if you think about it.
Yes it will also be live-streamed on many platforms. AMC Theaters too.
This will be one fantastic event and so appreciated for a devastated community. I think this NEEDED to happen.
I attended some historic benefit concerts in L.A. while I was growing up including a famous Peace Sunday concert at the Rose Bowl and 2 No Nukes Concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. Some of the same legendary performers who performed back then are set to perform now. Many of the artists have are also songwriters. Who's playing?
Billie Eilish, Stevie Nicks, Joni Mitchel, John Mayer , Dave Mathews, Pink, Steven Stills, Graham Nash, Green Day, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Sting, Stevie Wonder, Alanis Morissette, Lil Baby, The Black Crows and Rod Stewart to name well, many but not all. HAHA. I have a feeling more will be added because that tends to happen.
It will be soooo good to have something to look forward to later in January!!!
If you live in or will be visiting L.A. tickets are available soon.
My intuitive self says there may be some unexpected duets. (It has been announced that Mathews and Mayer will perform together for the first time, so that doesn't count as a surprise). Stills and Nash should play together but did you know Our House was written by Nash about Joni and she wrote songs about him? This could be VERY interesting.
@lovendures Thank you for this beautiful post about what matters most if we had to save things in our homes. A cousin who lives in L.A. sent me our parents, grandparents, and their parents' photos this week for safe-keeping. He wanted to be sure that they'd never be lost if his property burned down. I was so touched by this action, and it brought which we had, in a way, lost, until we realized how precious they were at the thought they could be lost.
I heard an L.A. native interviewed tonight on NPR. She said she is so proud of her beautiful incomparable city, the birth of all that Hollywood has brought to the world, a place of beautiful and light. I felt the city's light would shine brighter than ever now. I agree with you, that something beautiful and bright is emerging from these fires. Something lost gives way to something gained.
I love this Jeanne. Love you were sent the photos from L.A. for safe keeping and all the light which is shining there.