The LA Fires: First Reflections

Even as we prepare today to be evacuated from our Sherman Oaks residence, I am reminded of the broader, and more significant, outcomes here.

The impact of this natural disaster will be significant not only on the LA story but more directly on the LA Jewish community, as in some measure this experience has a distinctive Jewish component to it, as many of the affected areas are densely settled by Jews.

The broader implications are significant. The loss of Income as a result of career displacement, the closing of businesses, and the destruction of homes will have a long and profound impact on this region and for the individuals and families affected.

No doubt, because of the fires, much of the focus of LA philanthropic and charitable energy will be internally directed for years to come in being responsive to this community’s losses. The economic pressures on Jewish philanthropic institutions will be significant, as it will generate the need to raise specific funds to help manage resettlement and assistance to families impacted by this tragedy. The psychological fallout is beyond imagination.

The collateral damage is particularly significant, as there will be disruptions to many of LA’s key businesses, educational institutions, and social service networks.  With housing already a critical issue within Los Angeles County, the 2025 fires will add further strain on the availability of residential resources.

A fundamental question facing many folks impacted by these events, will they elect to rebuild their lives and homes, here in LA?  The growing reality, after this carnage Los Angeles will be a very different city.

There are lessons to be learned and adapted from this community’s prior experience with 1994 Northridge Earthquake, the aftermath of the 1992 Civil Unrest, and other episodes, a composite both natural disaster and human events, in how as a community we responded.

As with other moments of tragedy and loss, we will see efforts to create special opportunities for coming together to memorialize the lives both lost and impacted as we praise the first responders. Already, we are beginning to see the expression of individualized prayers and messages, specifically crafted around this unimaginable storyline.

Upon reflection, the value-added of community in a time of crisis is affirmed in this moment. With all of this, there comes with this experience a profound degree of fear and loss when facing an uncertain future. “Who by fire” is no longer merely a verse from Jewish tradition but now represents our reality as we see the death toll rise and the scope of loss continue to expand. Everyone knows someone who has been directly impacted by this tragedy.

Such transformative events reframe the power and meaning of the collective. In moments of despair, our humanity is rekindled. In an age of social media and of the sovereign self, this moment serves to reconnect us one to another.

When living through the pandemic we operated by necessity in isolation. Today, amidst nature’s wrath, we find ourselves bound together by a distinct desire for community. The affirmation of what the civic enterprise, be it public safety, the first responders, the broader nonprofit sector or more directly, our Jewish communal enterprise represents to our lives and well-being. These are the moments that affirm the essential importance of the collective.

How we show up to support those who have lost all that provided them with comfort and in some measure offered them a form of identity and standing will be our test. While we see “place” and “home” as critical to who we are in the world, we are reminded that our essence is much more than the material. At the outset, we acknowledge their loss and their sense of despair and uncertainty, as we embrace them and take them into our lives and into our homes. Our humanity is on trial here.

In this unfolding new reality, we garner a sense of what is truly meaningful and valuable in life, stripped of possessions and of place. The sanctity of life is itself reaffirmed in this moment. May we collectively find wholeness and peace amidst the flames.

Dr. Steven Windmueller is an Emeritus Professor of Jewish Communal Studies at HUC-JIR. He is the editor of a 2021 collection of essays on The Impact of Donald Trump’s Presidency on American Jewry and Israel.