Fire at the Doorstep

the climate it is a-changing

The Palisades Fire, as seen from my walk down 14th St. in Santa Monica on the afternoon of January 7.

On Tuesday, I had my first appointment with a new electrolysis provider in Los Angeles. Her office isn’t far from my apartment, so I decided to walk home and try out a new (to me) grocery store on the way.¹ It was windy but not so windy that I had trouble carrying my bag of groceries for a mile.

Halfway home, I turned a corner, and my eyes immediately gravitated toward the lovely mountains the frame Santa Monica to the north. However, there was something markedly different about them: they were on fire. I could see the blaze on top of a distant, but threateningly close, ridge. Black smoke billowed toward the ocean. I immediately became cognizant of the bad cigarette smell that punctuated the air.

Now, hours later back at my apartment, I keep refreshing the CalFire site in panic, hoping to see some good news. Or perhaps no news is good news as long as the evacuation orders haven’t been extended. The neighborhood 10 blocks north of me is under a warning to evacuate. I assume my area will be next if the situation escalates.

My heart races at the helplessness of it all. I take a deep breath and make up reasons that I shouldn’t be concerned. It helps, but only modestly. So I start writing these words to keep my bodymind from melting down completely. Anyway, it’s getting close to my bedtime. I should pack a to-go bag in case an order is issued tonight.

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I slept fitfully but am grateful that I remain under no immediate threat, with my to-go bag still sitting on my desk chair. However, the situation is ongoing as high winds (up to 100 mph in some areas) make containing the fires difficult.

And yes, that’s fires (plural). At the time of this writing, CalFire is actively responding to 4 separate fires in Los Angeles County (and 1 fire in neighboring Ventura County). Officials warn that the high winds could help spark additional fires throughout the region.

While wind and fire risk is inherent to Southern California, the ongoing drought is associated with climate change and exacerbates fire risk by leaving vegetation dry. The high winds further dry out vegetation, creating the tinderbox-like conditions.

Climate change is pushing weather patterns everywhere toward the extremes and raising the risk of powerful natural disasters. (Although, how natural can a disaster be if it was partly the result of human action?) Just last year, we saw Hurricane Helene bring damage and death to the American Southeast. Using this visual essay, you can explore how 70 worldwide cities will experience changes in climate classification between today and 2070.

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

However, the catastrophic effects of climate change are especially severe in the Global South where climate-mediated human suffering was widespread in 2024. A heat wave scorched North Africa, Mexico, and across Asia (from Palestine² and Saudi Arabia to Myanmar and the Philippines). A severe tropical cyclone struck India and Bangladesh. Wildfires burned in Chile and Brazil. Heavy rains separately flooded the Persian Gulf, East Africa, Brazil, and Bangladesh.

The Global South is hardly responsible for human-induced climate change. Estimates suggest that the Global North has a carbon footprint 100 times greater than that of the Global South. This creates a diplomatic disconnect that has hindered international efforts to mitigate climate catastrophe. The Global North bears both the responsibility and the financial means to protect against the worst effects, but the governments of these countries don’t want to send money to the Global South. This mindset of colonization is repackaged under neoliberal capitalism such that countries in the Global North only seek to extract value from the Global South through lopsided trade and underpaid labor.

Indeed, financing was the major negotiating point at the November 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. Countries in the Global North were set increase their investments in climate resilience in the Global South. Negotiations quickly turned bitter and the eventual deal has been widely panned. The African Group of Negotiators described the financial pledge as “too little, too late.” Cedric Schuster, the chair of the Alliance of Small Island States was exasperated: “Our islands are sinking. How can you expect us to go back to the women, men, and children of our countries with a poor deal?”

Climate justice will be further undermined when American president-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump plans to increase American fossil fuel extraction and again withdraw the country (the world’s second largest polluter) from the 2015 Paris Agreement. This treaty formed the basis of the climate financing negotiations at COP29. Instead, his “climate change policy” appears to include both denial and an infatuation with Greenland.

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All of this can feel a bit hopeless. Largely, the responsibility for our current climate predicament falls to the machinations of capitalism and multiple generations of political leadership in the Global North.

However, we will need concerted movements to pressure elected officials to take climate change seriously. There is work to be done at every level of society - locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Does your area need more charging stations for electric vehicles? Can your local governments expand incentives and tax credits for greener energy usage? Is your national government responsibly contributing to international climate change mitigation given its history within systems of capitalism and colonialism?

There are already many civic groups working toward these ends. Perhaps one in your local area could be a way to get involved. If not, talk to your friends and neighbors. You may have shared issues and concerns that you can start to address by working together within your local contexts.

Let’s all share ideas and opportunities to make a better world for all of us. If you are involved in climate advocacy and want to give a shoutout to your organization, please go ahead!

Until next time, stay safe friends.

1. I come from a long line of women who like to hunt for the best grocery deals.

2. A tragic addition to the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.