Los Angeles burns

Nothing short of a disaster movie is unfolding on X right now. This is the current aerial view of Los Angeles.

As I type, my friends are evacuating Brentwood. If you know anything about LA geography your jaw will be on the floor. I’m inundated with texts from all over the world asking if I’m safe, like the apocalypse has come. I’ve never experienced anything of this scale before.

This is a neighborhood in West LA right now:

A wild fire that spread via the Santa Ana winds has raged through the Pacific Palisades, requiring a full evacuation of the area, and just in tonight the Santa Monica area has been issued with an evacuation notice. Word just in that the fires are reaching Brentwood. All active firefighters are being called to report to the LA Fire Department immediately. One of my friends who escaped was stuck on the freeway for an entire afternoon during a terrifying gridlock of evacuees with no instruction from the authorities about how to clear the area. How is it that Los Angeles is so under-prepared for this kind of disaster? I’m reading online, but can’t corroborate whether it’s true, that the firefighters are abandoning saving homes in favor of preventing the fires from spreading to other areas. I’m out of words.

My home is on the East side and is currently being thrashed around so aggressively by these winds that I almost wondered earlier if we were about to experience some sort of twister situation. My power keeps cutting out, as many others have reported, including businesses in West Hollywood. On this side of town people are talking about what to do if it spreads here. I can’t fathom it spreading here. However, who thought that people in Brentwood would evacuate over wildfires in the canyons?

I don’t have words of wisdom right now. Fires are horrifying. Losing property is devastating. This is a nightmare that isn’t dying down any hour soon. This was the PCH at 6pm tonight. The most beautiful highway on earth, now just ash and embers of fire. We are in for a long night.

I am safe. Thank you to the many people who reached out. To the community of the Palisades in particular, we are all sending you strength and hoping for miracles.