Fire is not patient. Flames do not wait; they do not hold back, they do not put up with anything or anyone getting in their way. Since last week, Los Angeles County has been facing the worst wildfires in its history, fueled by multiple blazes, particularly two: the Palisades Fire in the northwest, near the beaches of Malibu, and the Eaton Fire in the northeast. Together, they have burned 40,000 acres, destroying homes and the lives of those who once resided there. More than 80,000 people remain displaced after eight days of emergency. Some fled with only the clothes on their backs. Others had more time, perhaps a few moments, to think about what to take from their homes, to choose that object whose loss might leave them with lingering regret.
