On the first night of the Palisades and Eaton fires, the Los Angeles news media began using the word “apocalyptic” to describe what they saw — fires sometimes as far as the eye could see, burning some of America’s most beautiful neighborhoods. Later, they would look at the areas left by those fires and see a moonscape of gray ash.
Over and over, we heard the words “apocalypse” and “apocalyptic.”
The Los Angeles area is prone to wildfires. That’s not new. But officials were not ready for so many simultaneous fires in hurricane-force winds, including two massive infernos. Evacuated homes and businesses are vulnerable to looters, but curfews didn’t go into effect until days after the fires began. And it is questionable how well police will be able to enforce curfews over such large areas. Consequently, widespread looting will probably continue.
You expect those things, but you don’t expect a large Canadian “Super Scooper” water-dropping aircraft to be hit by a drone and put out of action. You don’t expect firefighters to hook up to fire hydrants and find them dry — a major problem in the highly affluent area of Pacific Palisades.
In some emergencies, it’s possible to survive by sheltering in place. But if your house is in danger of burning, you must leave. So, Los Angeles officials ordered evacuations like the city had never known before. That led to a problem that was also predictable, but no one seemed ready for — gridlock. It’s a common traffic problem in car-centric LA. But the evacuation traffic jams caught the city by surprise.
Nursing homes were especially vulnerable. In one case, scores of elderly patients — some in wheelchairs and some in hospital beds, waited in a 7-Eleven parking lot not far from the building they had evacuated as the fire closed in. It took a long time to get those people out of that windy parking lot and into ambulances and other vehicles that would take them to safety. We don’t yet know the extent of the loss of life, but we know that each of the dead will be mourned by family, friends, and communities.
The word apocalypse means “reveal” or “revelation.” We associate the word with massive, fiery disasters because of the horrors described in the book of Revelation. But the first five words of that book tell what it’s really about — “The revelation of Jesus Christ.”
With the real definition in mind, I hope that Los Angeles and California, along with the rest of America, will view this as a wake-up call. Actor Dennis Quaid, on a local television news report Friday night, said, “I think there’s a spiritual awakening on the other side of this.” May it be so. May there be a real apocalypse — a revelation. May Christ be revealed, and may America see the light.
