Amidst the grief and loss, the fire teaches us
Angeles Forest a week before the fires, January 2025
Dear LA family, you’re in my aching, yet full, heart as the wind blows with smoke and with grief of humans and land. Beyond wildfire smoke, the wind blows with traces of where humans went wrong - toxic particles that pose the risk of lung cancer and other respiratory issues. Take care; it is so important that we take care of our respiratory health and nervous system health to stay resilient during this heavy time as the fires burn and the aftermath unfolds. We must not have negative feelings towards the fire itself, for fire is a part of the elements and balance of life. Amidst the grief and the loss, the fire teaches us.
The fire teaches us that we need to be in relationship with the land we live on.
The fire teaches us the need for Land Back to native peoples, Indigenous leadership and Traditional Ecological Knowledge. Before colonization, native peoples tended the lands to allow for healthy fires that maintained the balance of life. The privatization of lands have caused severing of this stewardship, creating environments that allow for fires to be this out of control. Before colonization, LA wasn’t this dry - the sacred waters of this land have been blocked in by the concrete of separation for a more “efficient” city by capitalist standards. Climate crises like these are a direct result of colonial capitalism and the displacement of native communities.
The fire teaches us our foundation needs to work with the Earth not against it. That we need to build Earth homes that are fire-resistant and resistant to all o the elemental movements that are coming with the shifts of this planet. We need to have integrity in all parts of our lives with eco-friendly, eco-conscious materials - as the toxins that humans have been harming the Earth with blow through the air with the message that these things - toxic wastes - and traumas - don’t “go away”, there is no “away”.
The fire teaches us that we too are part of the Earthly cycles of death and rebirth, and it’s our responsibility to aid the regeneration. There is much work to be done, but we must never lose hope, hope is the fire under our resilience, and I have found so much hope in community. We are all being called to step up and do everything we can to help Mother Earth and her inhabitants, and this happens in community. We all have unique gifts that are like our superpowers, and, when we combine our gifts, that power is strong. We will keep organizing, keep moving, keep showing up, and in order to do this we have to keep taking care of our health. The fire teaches us the power of community, even at times that can feel hopeless, we take care of each other, we hold each other up, as the Earth holds us, we are woven threads strong in our entanglement. I love you.
Living Earth’s Mutual Aid and Disaster Relief
Support Tongva land resoration
Petition to rebuild LA with Natural, Fire-resistant materials
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May we honor the plants and animals who have returned to the Earth with this fire
May those whose homes were affected by the fires, especially the disenfranchised, be held in love and support
May we stay healthy and resilient so we can do the work we need to do
May there be calm with the fires, and the transformation needed be ignited
May there be balance with the winds, and the air flow clean
May there be healing from the waters, and the waters run clean
May there be renewal with Earth, and fertile soils and land well-tended
May humanity listen to the Earth and all that we need to do in right relationship
