The Palisades fire has blessed me with a conversation starter that I will likely continue to use in the years to come. It’s dramatic, yet predictable. It goes like this:
I see someone I haven’t seen since the fires, which devastated Los Angeles in the early part of 2025, or perhaps I’m meeting someone new. I tell them that I was fortunate that my house did not burn down, and that somehow my immediate neighborhood was spared from the flames.
I then say, “Let me show you something.”
I take out my phone and produce a map of the area affected by the Palisades fire. The fire is represented by a big red blob superimposed over LA.
“This area is significantly larger than all of Manhattan,” I say.
