Paradise Lost

 

If we only learned one thing from the Maui, North Carolina, and Los Angeles disasters it is this - expect the unexpected. Plan for a worst-case scenario. Why? Because they can and maybe will - happen."  

Confessions from my youth. In 1960, my family vacationed in the southwest and California. I fell in love with both Colorado and California. My Aunt lived in Glenwood, CA, so we stayed with her. I could not understand why anyone would live anywhere else but the Golden State or Colorado. To my young brain, both states were like a paradise back then. I could not wait to grow up so I could move to one of them. 

So, I did grow up. And traveled for a job. Most of my travels were to Washington DC, but a couple dozen trips were to the West Coast. The California I remembered as a youth, the paradise I wanted to live in - changed. California was expensive, it was smoggy, there was lots of crime, fires and earthquakes. It was far from paradise - it was paradise lost. 

My opinion only on this matter. The folks who decided to live on this very expensive land between the San Gabriel Mountains and the Pacific Ocean were trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. There is no way I would have traded my life in this cold northland to live in Los Angeles. Most folks knew it was only a matter of time before there would be a catastrophic earthquake which would change everything for everyone. The "mega fire" like they are having right now was not on anyone's "bingo card".

Where does that leave this once thought of paradise when the fire is finally out? Maybe no place. Many houses are destroyed, schools are gone, stores have vanished, and Los Angeles now looks more like Hiroshima after the bomb had hit. The ground may not be radioactive like it was in Hiroshima, but it is poisoned from all the toxic items which burned and the fire retardant which was dropped from the tankers. 

Here is where the hard part comes in. The City of Angels, the city where many Angelenos grew up in, where their parents live or lived, will never be the same again. At best, people who lost everything will have the insurance coverage to make them financially whole again. But the fear is those people will be in the minority. Even for those who are fortunate enough to become financially whole, will probably never be able to build on the site they once had. Why? It will take years - decades to rezone the land for affordable and safe building. That is the reality. Regardless of what the governor or mayor is telling folks, the LA from yesterday will no longer be rebuild the same way. Yes, paradise is lost.

It is hard to believe we have had three major disasters in the past couple of years. First the fire on Maui, then the floods from Hurricane Helene in the mountains of western North Carolina. Now this mega fire in LA. What will the damages be for all three disasters? Over $100B for sure. Here is the irony however - the fire in Maui was something NOBODY saw coming. Having hurricane damage in the mountains of North Carolina, was something NOBODY saw coming. This mega-fire in LA was something SOME should have seen coming. Maybe some did, but they just ignored it. 

Even Superstorm Sandy caught many off guard. No matter where you live, having an "E Plan" for your family, and "Bug Out Kits" is smart planning. Planning for what? The unexpected. If we learned nothing but this from the Maui, North Carolina, Los Angeles disasters - expect the unexpected. Plan for a worst-case scenario. Why? Because they can and maybe will - happen.