By Emil Amok Guillermo
If I had a dollar every time someone described the LA fires with terms like “apocalyptic,” “war zone,” or “bomb,” I might have enough to cover the $50 billion estimated cost of rebuilding the city. These fires challenge our powers of description, and, more importantly, our understanding of climate disaster. The unimaginable devastation is forcing us to confront the undeniable: climate change is real, and its impact is catastrophic.
Los Angeles–the second-largest city in the U.S. and home to one of the largest Asian American populations in the country–has become the epicenter of this tragedy. While most Asian Americans don’t live in the wealthy neighborhoods hardest hit by the flames, no one is immune. Fires and smoke don’t discriminate. The Santa Ana winds, clocking in at 80–100 mph, have turned all of LA into a powder keg, where one spark can ignite unimaginable chaos. From the Palisades to Altadena, everyone is put at risk.
Watching from afar, I’ve been transfixed by the crisis in LA. As a San Francisco native, I’m supposed to have a bit of smug superiority when it comes to Southern California. But not this week. Instead, I’ve found myself filled with love and empathy for LA. I even found myself thinking: Take our Northern California water, LA. For now. You need it more than we do.
The fires are not just tragic—they’re unnatural. This devastation isn’t supposed to happen in winter. Just last year, LA faced mudslides and floods. Vegetation remained green until drought conditions set in, but now the rain has vanished. This winter, LA has seen a paltry 0.02 inches of rain, compared to an average of 3.46 inches. Combine that with intense, unrelenting winds and dry conditions, and you have a recipe for disaster.
This is California’s new normal: a year-round fire season fueled by climate change. Hotter summers, drier winters, and decades of poor decisions over land use and water management have turned the Golden State into a tinderbox. Yet this isn’t just California’s problem. It’s a preview of what’s coming for the rest of America as global temperatures rise and devastating extreme weather events become routine.
Trump’s “Burn, Baby, Burn” Approach
At a time when leadership is desperately needed, President-elect Donald Trump continues to stoke division rather than provide solutions. Shortly after the fires began, Trump blamed California Governor Gavin Newsom for the state’s water policies, falsely claiming they caused dry hydrants. In reality, hydrants ran dry because of the extraordinary demand created by multiple fires and infrastructure issues, such as needed power shutoffs that affected water pumping stations.
Instead of addressing these challenges, Trump chose to play politics, a pattern that’s become all too familiar. The man who denies climate change is leading the nation into a hotter, more dangerous future.
For a brief moment last week, it seemed Trump might show some sense and humility. At the memorial service for former President Jimmy Carter, the president-elect sat quietly alongside other living presidents. We need more of that Trump.
Carter, eulogized as a humane, bipartisan leader, represented everything Trump is not. Carter was an environmentalist—green before his time. He was a champion of racial and social justice, a soft-spoken president who sought to unite, not divide.
But by the end of the week, Trump was back to his old self, appearing at his New York criminal sentencing in the Stormy Daniels hush-money case. Facing 34 felony convictions, Trump played victim, claimed his innocence and called it all a “witch hunt.” Judge Juan Merchan issued an “unconditional discharge,” upholding the jury’s verdict without imposing punishment. It was a reminder that the rule of law can hold even the most powerful accountable, but it also left many unsatisfied.
Trump has now achieved historical shame—the first ever convicted felon to be elected president. And a plurality of Americans seem just fine with it.
A Nation on Fire
The parallel between LA’s literal fires and the metaphorical fire that is Trump couldn’t be clearer. Both are products of neglect. Decades of ignoring climate change have led to California’s infernos, just as decades of ignoring systemic inequalities, racism, and resentment have fueled Trumpism.
Trump didn’t start America’s divisions, but he has certainly thrown gasoline on them. He capitalized on the anger of those who feel left behind by the system, using it to fuel his rise. Now, with his return to the presidency in days, his agenda threatens to undo the progress made under President Joe Biden, particularly on climate change.
Meanwhile, LA continues to burn, and the nation’s faith in our democracy smolders. Half of America views Trump as a martyr, while the other half wants him in prison. The divide grows wider, leaving the country brittle and vulnerable.
Rebuilding From the Ashes
The lesson of fire is that destruction doesn’t have to be the end. After the flames die down, the land heals, and new growth emerges. But rebuilding requires effort and vision. It’s not just about replacing what was lost but creating something better.
The mistake would be failing to see the connection between the fires in LA and the divisions tearing America apart. Both are symptoms of a deeper problem: a failure to address the challenges of our time with urgency and compassion.
It’s a wake up moment for a country that’s made wokeness a dirty word.
Do we let the flames—both literal and figurative—consume us, or can we find a way to rise from the ashes together?
Emil Guillermo is an award-winning journalist, commentator, and storyteller. He was the first Asian American to host NPR’s “All Things Considered.” He writes a column for Inquirer.net, and hosts “Emil Amok’s Takeout” on YouTube and patreon.com.
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