For LA and Houston Children, a Contrast in Fire and Ice

As Winter Storm Enzo delivered a white wonderland to Houston’s children last month to bounce back from Hurricane Beryl’s wrath, youth in LA grappled with the loss of normalcy stripped by post New Year wildfires.

Tons of families who called home the areas stripped of 12,000 properties have found themselves severely impacted by loss of community. Ties to neighbors, schools, and churches, some long-term, severed suddenly by residential displacement.

In addition to Pacific Palisades properties charred to a crisp, wildfires wiped out the generational wealth amassed by the Benn family thirty-two miles away in Altadena. Imaginably, items lost in the flash of fire that destroyed dozens of Benn-owned homes were childhood milestones frozen in pictures; favorite food recipes long protected and passed down; and a baby shoe-first preserved in bronze.

Despite frigid temperatures which now strike fear in Houstonians following 2021’s failed Texas power grid, throngs of local families welcomed the rare powdery blanket with snowman building and makeshift sledding. Had city streets been easier to navigate, this big kid would have felt right at home joining the snowflake fun.

The positive memorability of snow fights and seasonal frolic will be treasured for years to come but being a victim of California’s unnatural or natural disaster presents a challenge not easily processed or overcome. Human lives cannot be rebuilt overnight especially when earthquakes, mudslides, drought, and wildfires pose ongoing threats.

Not less than 24 hours after Houstonians were getting back in normal’s post snow day saddle, CNN alerted mandatory evacuation orders were issued for northern LA County. Various news outlets detailed the fire’s eruption and escalation to 9200 acres in several hours.

Surrounding some of the City of Angels’ toniest beach enclaves, the Pacific Coast Highway will eventually return to its pristine postcard perfection. Whether it is a disaster by earth, wind or fire, Californians continuously display the resilience of unbreakable faith though what tomorrow brings is unknown.

Piled atop the chaos displacement and the numbing death toll of up to twenty-nine residents at last count, some children may be too traumatized to realize the masterclass unfolding circumstantially. The one that stresses adversity is best tackled head-on with hope.

Wind-fueled wildfires might have trampled adult dreams and dimmed the light in the eyes of some Angeleno children, but restoration of brightness to bewildered eyes will come with wildfire containment minus rain-initiated mudslides the way snowfall pushed the hurricane-aided electricity outages of July 2024 out of Houstonians’ minds.

Shari Wright, UU Education Coordinator