Inside the Palisades: from peace to devastation

“Pacific” means tranquil. Peaceful. Non-violent. What I witnessed inside the Pacific Palisades today was a riptide of aggression against the very notion of calm.

My friend’s house is still standing. It’s unreal, considering so much of the Palisades is gone. But there it is. Still there. And I have a press pass so I can get thru the National Guard checkpoints much easier than others. So today my brother in all but blood Remi Franklin and I went up there. Remi and I have been in warzones in Israel together, and both are uniquely unphased by emergencies these days. (Fire? Which direction this time? Oh a literal one?) So from Gaza to Rustic Canyon we went. We went into the Palisades - or what is left of it - today on a rescue mission for our friends to retrieve irreplaceable property and report back on the state of some beloved homes. Good news for some. The worst news for others.

We documented some of the devastation. It looks like Mad Max; a terrifying war zone from 3025. Access to emergency services only. Will Rogers Park’s fences melted away. Cars abandoned in the middle of Sunset and incinerated. Streets and streets of nothing but rubble and neighborhoods that no longer exist. Stores that have stood for decades evaporated. A residential community beloved by all who lived there reduced to the ash floating still in the air, and toxic dust. The smell is overwhelming. We managed to get inside our friend’s still standing property. And to locate some of Remi’s old memories (he grew up in the Palisades and Malibu); some there, some gone forever.

At one point, I stood on a street that was entirely gone - the whole street completely vaporized – save for a flag in what was once a yard. The flag was blue and white with a Star of David on it, and it said "We stand with Israel".

It’s important to document what happened here, and not only make sure it never happens again, but understand why it happened. Why California’s greatest city had to burn down to wake the masses up to the incompetence and corruption that has been passing the smell test quietly for years, and should have failed time and again. For a promise to ensure this kind of thing doesn’t keep repeating, we need to ask some uncomfortable questions. It is now estimated that there is $150 billion in destruction. Ongoing controversies abound surrounding the suicidal failures of both Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom. In my opinion both cannot and should never recover from this. The pictures tell a story beyond just wild fires. To me they tell a story of a city of angels without its wings; unprotected and naked to nature’s angriest threat.

One house we checked on was completely down to the nib. And somehow the Porsche in the driveway was entirely unscathed. The owners asked us to search for china dishware. I didn’t know quite how to word that there was absolutely nothing to gather.

Our hearts are with the Palisades and all the families affected. Stay strong. Hang tight. Help anyone you can. Even if it’s just one person, you could provide a kindness they never realized they were owed. What matters is surviving. Everything else can be rebuilt. An LA friend texted me this morning and said she couldn’t get out of bed. I told her if she got out of her bed, she was going to be the best part of everyone’s day. You can be the best part of someone’s day right now. Or you can be someone who tells the story some day. You could be both.

To those in LA, get a 3M mask like the one I’m wearing above. An N95 won’t cut it. You can find them at the Home Depot if not online. And make sure you take supplements like Quercetin and Glutathione. Do not use water that isn’t boiled from the kettle. And please get a HEPA approved air purifier. I bought this one. There are so many ways to dig in and help, and organizations setting up collection points for essentials all over the city. Most of these efforts are being communicated via social media. Individual families who have lost homes are setting up GoFundMe’s for assistance with this interim stage. Everyone knows someone affected. Don’t ask how you can help. A person marred by deep tragedy and loss like this is overwhelmed by that question. Just do what you would need someone to do for you if it was your situation. Start operating, no questions asked.

Be brave, be good, be gentle. What is lost is behind. Try to make someone laugh. It’s all absurd.