Postindustrial Arts Columnist Tamara White finds herself surrounded by the fires in Southern California while pondering the effect on creatives and our vulnerability to the climate crisis.
Growing up in Northern California, Los Angeles was always this elusive, faraway place that was magical, daunting, and far more sophisticated than my small-town surroundings.
So when I arrived last month to live in this new, wondrous place that has the potential of providing me with an engaging new landscape, I never would have imagined what was to come one week later and how quickly I would become attached to this new place.
With an aching heart over the devastation that surrounds me, I feel like a foreigner trying to offer help without a full understanding of the love and connection that long-term residents are expressing.
Lifelong Angelenos living in generational housing, creatives who provide our world with art, film, and music, and highly publicized celebrities have lost everything.
They have been stripped of memories, keepsakes, and security. The flames that continue to rage do not discriminate. I am hesitant to say we are all in it together, given that my feet have only been on Los Angeles soil for a short time, but this fire has brought forth a global response of support.
Donations are flooding in from around the globe. Firefighters from Mexico, Canada, and South Africa are here to assist. Strangers wanting to help are creating art auctions and GoFundMe campaigns.
Despite the political nonsense being applied to the cause of the fires, a sense of humanity overshadows the animosity and acrimony. The long-time L.A. resident David Lynch, who passed away last week, just shy of his 78th birthday, said it best: ” We are all one.”
Nature has a way of reminding us of this. Time and again, nonpartisan disasters void of religious ties remind us that money, race, religion, or sexual orientation cannot prevent us from the vulnerability of the increasing climate crisis.
I encourage you to pause, consider the plight of those who have lost everything, and then contribute what you can to many of the organizations working to assist victims of this recent event.
Then, regardless of where you live, create a plan for the possibility of a natural disaster in your area. There are numerous steps to take to be prepared should you find yourself in an evacuation zone. A few of these important actions include:
- Build a kit
- Prepare for your pets
- Stock a bag with medications and necessary health supplies
- Create an evacuation plan
Remember that it can happen to anyone, and being prepared is the most critical step to ensuring the safety of yourself, your family, and your pets.
At the end of the day, I am an optimist. I believe that hope and action will override derision and divisiveness and that this latest event is a wakeup call for us to heal and come together as a country. And if it can't happen nationwide, it can start in California—with one small act of kindness at a time.
As Margaret Mead noted: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
