'The birds are back.' Resilience in the ruins of the Palisades fire
08:35 Share

Here in Los Angeles, a lot of people are still replaying exactly where they were last Tuesday when the Palisades fire began roaring through the mountains. Like Barbara Tejada, who was speeding down the Pacific Coast Highway. Right.

I threw on the hazard lights and we kind of upset a few people probably, but we were driving on the shoulder of the road so that we could get here. Here, as in the historic ranch home of Will Rogers, the vaudeville performer and radio and movie star, he was known as America's cowboy philosopher.

And last week, as smoke billowed in the hills just beyond his ranch, park officials like Tejada jumped into action. We pulled up trucks right here where we're standing on the lawn. You dashed into the house. What was your first room? The main living room. We have a lot of Charles Russell bronze sculptures here.

There were some key things owned by Will, like his, you know, his boots, his typewriter. And people are packing, people are packing. We're moving things into trucks. And you keep spinning around and looking out the windows. Yes. And at one point I came out and I literally saw the smoke plume start to churn.

And that was the clue. Like, I realized, OK, guys, whatever you have in your hands, that's it. We've got to go. Like, this is the last round of things. We've got to go. They hopped into their trucks. And before they left, Tejada took one last look at the house. And something told me to take a picture because this might be the last time we see it. So I did take a I do have a photo from the

From the truck, the ranch house is right there. The sky is just lit orange, red, yellow, gray. It looks like a watercolor. Yeah. If you didn't know how destructive it was, it would be beautiful. Consider this. The ranch house was nearly a century old. The centerpiece of Will Rogers State Historic Park and a piece of American history.

In one night, a firestorm reduced it to rubble. From NPR, I'm Elsa Chang. This message comes from NPR sponsor, Sotva. Founder and CEO Ron Rudson shares why Sotva sales associates are focused on finding the perfect mattress for their customers.

It's soft to have a 365-day home trial. Why would we want to rush you or try to push you into something that's not right for you? We want to make sure that we guide you to the right mattress. Our team is always available to be helpful, to make sure you make the right choice. To learn more, go to saatva.com slash NPR.

This message comes from Greenlight. Ready to start talking to your kids about financial literacy? Meet Greenlight, the debit card and money app that teaches kids and teens how to earn, save, spend wisely, and invest. Start your risk-free trial at greenlight.com slash NPR.

This message comes from Bluehost, making it easy to create a website fast. Their AI tools can help you customize, optimize, and launch in minutes and with 24-7 security, so you can focus on business, not hackers. Get your site launched at bluehost.com. ♪

It's Consider This from NPR. Will Rogers State Historic Park is a vast stretch of natural space in the Santa Monica Mountains. It's a treasure to Angelenos. People get married here. They picnic here, have kids' birthday parties on the Great Lawn. There's a huge network of trails that snake up into the hills, packed with hikers and bikers.

And this ranch house itself has survived a near miss with wildfire before. But this time, it wasn't so lucky. What went through your mind when you saw what we're staring at now?

These charred remains, these lone chimneys sticking up into the sky with nothing around them. I was taking deep breaths to not have a panic attack. And I was just, it's gone. I can't believe it's gone. This house that has stood here for nearly a century is now a pile of rubble surrounded by yellow police tape.

Those stone steps, that was the entrance. Yeah. So that right there is, you know, you see the bathtub, that was actually on the second story. The bathtub's now right behind the fireplace in the main room. Yes, exactly. Tejada then leads us across the great lawn, the only thing that's still green around here. There's...

little burn marks here and there from embers. And we go past the destroyed horse stables to meet Richard Fink, who helps manage the state parks in this area.

So if you were to come here on weekend days, you're typically going to see a line of cars eager to get in. He guides us towards the Inspiration Loop Trail, which was one of the most popular hikes in this park. Now it's completely empty. It's very surreal. You know, probably never see anything like this again. And it's devastating. Oh, wow, Richard. I've hiked these trails many times and this is just completely different. It's black everywhere.

I mean, the only plant life are these blackened twigs jutting out of the ground. These skinny skeletal tree trunks.

It's kind of spooky. It's spooky, and if you get up to the top of the inspiration loop at Inspiration Point, every hillside that you look at from around the park here looks exactly the same. And yet, we suddenly notice small traces of what used to be a few singed pieces of paper poking up from the eucalyptus leaves. I just found this page on the ground for Julian's chili. It was a Will Rogers cookbook.

Here's a recipe from the governor of Oklahoma for carrot pineapple cake. Well, I'll give this to you if you're going to assemble the recipe book again. It does make you think what nature was thinking when it decided what to save and what to destroy. Right.

Still standing next to the ruins of the ranch house is a majestic oak tree where I meet Armando Quintero, the director of the California Department of Parks and Recreation. And I ask him what these fires have done to the relationship between Angelenos and all the nature that surrounds them.

It's an answer full of emotion. You know, these places offer restoration for us as individuals, for families to gather. They're places of memory.

And, I mean, this is literally a disaster of memory for so many. I mean, I'm also just thinking about people in Southern California who may not have a home with a big yard, who can flock to a big space like this and feel for a moment that they live in a beautiful corner of Los Angeles. Exactly. This is the home of Angelenos. It's the home of Californians. Californians.

Can you even begin to describe the psychic injury that has been inflicted on people who have used outdoor space as solace and are now looking at the charred remains of what used to be an incredibly beautiful park? You can see me. It's overwhelming grief. And being the director of a department...

with all these employees and the public and the responsibility is one of how do we care? Literally, it's about caring. This work is caring for each other, caring for our homes and strengthening what makes us human. I'm heartbroken. But as painful as this time is, Quintero says, listen, you can hear the birds. They're back.

And look, he says, the deer. They're wandering back, too. Oh, there's a deer right now. Yeah, I do. A lone deer just walking tentatively into the stable. Oh, yeah, there's another. We see them walking in the abandoned horse pasture. Nature does come back. What does that feel like to you to watch the deer come back? Hopeful. Life goes on. Things will return. Yeah.

A small reminder that nature ultimately is resilient and that this beautiful park will come back one day. This episode was produced by Kira Joaquim, Michael Levitt, and Elena Burnett. It was edited by Christopher Intagliata. Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan.

Finally, thank you so much to our Consider This Plus listeners who support the work of NPR journalists and help keep public radio strong. Supporters also hear every episode without messages from sponsors. Learn more at plus.npr.org. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Elsa Chang.

This message is brought to you by NPR sponsor, PRII. PRII is 100% grass-fed and finished beef.

Their steaks and ground beef never have added hormones or antibiotics. They're non-GMO and halal. Their beef is humanely raised on pasture year-round using sustainable practices and never use feedlots, making small steps toward a healthier planet. Head to eatpre.com slash NPR to learn more and find Pre Beef at a store near you.

Support for this podcast and the following message come from Energia, where everyone can invest in the world's most profitable renewable energy markets. Since inception, Energia has helped investors realize a 12% return while earning steady monthly dividends.

Make your money do more at Energia.com slash NPR. That's Energia, E-N-E-R-G-E-A dot com. Past performance is not indicative of future results. All investments carry risk, including the potential loss of principal.

Support for NPR and the following message come from Washington Wise. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day. But what policy changes should investors be watching? Washington Wise is an original podcast for investors from Charles Schwab that unpacks the stories making news in Washington and how it may affect your finances and portfolio. Listen at schwab.com slash Washington Wise.