'The birds are back.' Resilience in the ruins of the Palisades fire

Summary

Summary of NPR's "Consider This" Episode: "The Birds Are Back: Resilience in the Ruins of the Palisades Fire"

Release Date: January 17, 2025

NPR's "Consider This" delves deep into the aftermath of the devastating Palisades fire that ravaged the Santa Monica Mountains, focusing on the destruction of the historic Will Rogers ranch home. This episode captures the immediate response to the disaster, personal narratives of resilience, and the enduring connection between the community and nature.

---

1. The Onset of the Palisades Fire

Ilsa Cheng opens the episode by setting the scene in Los Angeles, recalling the chaotic moments as the Palisades fire erupted. She introduces Barbara Tejada, a park official who was navigating the Pacific Coast Highway during the wildfire.

• Barbara Tejada shares her frantic actions:
  "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." [00:13]

---

2. Immediate Response and Evacuation

As the fire approached the Will Rogers ranch, Tejada and her team acted swiftly to protect the historical landmark.

• Tejada describes their efforts to safeguard the ranch:
  "We pulled up trucks right here where we're standing on the lawn." [00:41]

• Richard Fink, another park manager, inquires about the urgency Tejada felt:
  "What was your first room?"
  "The main living room. We have a lot of Charles Russell bronze sculptures... People are packing. We're moving things into trucks." [00:44-01:02]

Tejada recounts a pivotal moment when she witnessed the smoke plume, signaling the imminent threat:
"I realized, okay, guys, whatever you have in your hands, we're running out of time. We've got to go." [01:04-01:21]

---

3. Witnessing the Destruction

Upon evacuation, Tejada took a poignant photograph of the ranch, capturing its final moments under the fiery sky.

• Tejada reflects on the destruction:
  "If you didn't know how destructive it was, it would. It'd be beautiful." [01:54]

The episode poignantly illustrates the ranch house's demise, a century-old structure intertwined with American history, now reduced to rubble.

---

4. The Heart of the Park and Community Impact

Ilsa Cheng navigates through the devastated Will Rogers State Historic Park, highlighting its significance as a natural sanctuary for Angelenos.

• Ilsa Cheng describes the park's role:
  "It's a treasure to Angelenos. People get married here, they picnic here, have kids, birthday parties on the Great Lawn." [03:28]

Richard Fink shares his emotional response upon seeing the charred remains:
"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." [04:00-04:10]

---

5. Ecological and Psychological Aftermath

The episode explores the extensive damage to the park's trails and natural habitats, with Armando Quintero, Director of the California Department of Parks and Recreation, providing insight into the broader implications.

• Armando Quintero underscores the surreal emptiness post-fire:
  "It's very surreal. You'll probably never see anything like this again and it's devastating." [05:03-05:13]

Quintero speaks to the emotional toll on both the community and park staff:
"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 for each other, caring for our homes, and strengthening our... What makes us human. I'm heartbroken." [06:25-07:27]

---

6. Signs of Resilience and Nature’s Return

Amidst the devastation, signs of ecological resilience emerge. Quintero offers a glimmer of hope by pointing out the return of wildlife.

• Quintero highlights nature's recovery:
  "Listen, you can hear the birds. They're back. And look, he says, the deer, they're wandering back, too." [08:10-08:24]

Tejada observes a deer cautiously returning to the abandoned pasture:
"Hopeful life goes on. Things will return." [08:26-08:50]

This resurgence symbolizes the enduring spirit of the ecosystem and the community's capacity to rebuild and heal.

---

7. Conclusion: A Message of Hope and Resilience

The episode concludes on an optimistic note, emphasizing that despite the profound loss, both nature and the community possess an inherent resilience. The restoration of the park and the return of wildlife serve as powerful reminders that recovery is possible, and cherished spaces can regain their vitality.

Ilsa Cheng encapsulates the essence of the episode:
"A small reminder that nature ultimately is resilient and that this beautiful park will come back one day." [08:52-08:53]

---

Production Credits

• Producers: Kyra Joachim, Michael Levitt, Elena Burnett
• Editor: Christopher Inteliata
• Executive Producer: Sami Yenigun

---

This episode of "Consider This" poignantly captures the immediate chaos of the Palisades fire, the emotional and psychological impact on those connected to the historic ranch, and the broader implications for the community and environment. Through personal narratives and expert insights, NPR paints a comprehensive picture of loss and the hopeful path toward regeneration.

Transcript

[Ilsa Cheng]

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.

[Barbara Tejada]

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.

[Ilsa Cheng]

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.

[Barbara Tejada]

We pulled up trucks right here where we're standing on the lawn.

[Richard Fink]

You dashed into the house. What was your first room?

[Barbara Tejada]

The main living room. We have a lot of Charles Russell bronze sculptures. 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.

[Richard Fink]

And you keep spinning around and looking out the windows.

[Barbara Tejada]

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, okay, guys, whatever you have in your hands, we're running out of time. We've got to go. Like, this is the last round of things. We've got to go.

[Ilsa Cheng]

They hopped into their trucks, and before they left, Tejada took one last look at the house.

[Barbara Tejada]

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.

[Richard Fink]

Oh, my.

[Barbara Tejada]

The ranch house is right there.

[Richard Fink]

The sky's just lit orange, red, yellow, gray.

[Ilsa Cheng]

It looks like a watercolor.

[Barbara Tejada]

Yeah. If you didn't know how destructive it was, it would. It'd be beautiful.

[Ilsa Cheng]

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 Ilsa Cheng.

[Ron Rudson]

This message comes from NPR sponsor Saatva. Founder and CEO Ron Rudson shares the story of how he got started creating Saatva.

[N/A]

In 2007, 2008, I went out and I bought the most popular luxury mattresses. I tore them apart, and I realized based on the raw materials, cost, and the analysis that I had done, that I was able to sell that level mattress, but with a very affordable price.

[Ron Rudson]

To learn more, go to saatva.com NPR this message comes from Wise, the app for doing things in other currencies, sending or spending money abroad hidden fees may be taking a cut. With Wise you can convert between up to 40 currencies at the mid market exchange rate. Visit wise.comtnc supply this message comes from Intuit.

[N/A]

TurboTax now taxes is matching with an expert backed by tech to get you the most money [e-mail] experts only available with TurboTax Live. See guarantee [e-mail] guarantees.

[Ilsa Cheng]

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.

[Richard Fink]

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.

[Barbara Tejada]

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.

[Ilsa Cheng]

This house that has stood here for nearly a century is now a pile of rubble surrounded by yellow police tape.

[Barbara Tejada]

Those stone steps, that was the entrance.

[Richard Fink]

Yeah.

[Barbara Tejada]

So that right there is, you know, you see the bathtub that was actually on the second story.

[Richard Fink]

Like there's bathtub's now right behind the fireplace in the main room.

[Barbara Tejada]

Exactly.

[Ilsa Cheng]

Tejada then leads us across the Great Lawn. The only thing that's still green around.

[Barbara Tejada]

Here, there's little burn marks here and there from embers.

[Ilsa Cheng]

And we go past the destroyed horse stables to meet Richard Fink, who helps manage the state parks in this area.

[Armando Quintero]

So if you were to come here on weekend days, you're typically going to see a line of cars eager to get in.

[Ilsa Cheng]

He guides us towards the Inspiration Loop Trail, which was one of the most popular hikes in this park. Now it's completely empty.

[Armando Quintero]

It's very surreal. You'll probably never see anything like this again and it's devastating.

[Richard Fink]

Oh, wow. RICHARD I've hiked these trails many times and this is just completely different. It's black. 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.

[Armando Quintero]

It's spooky. And you know, 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.

[Ilsa Cheng]

And yet we suddenly notice small traces of what used to be a few singed pieces of paper poking up from the eucalyptus leaves.

[Richard Fink]

I just found this page on the ground for Julian's chili.

[Barbara Tejada]

It was a Will Rogers cookbook. Here's the recipe from the governor of Oklahoma for carrot pineapple cake.

[Richard Fink]

Well, I'll give this to you if you're gonna 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?

[Ilsa Cheng]

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.

[N/A]

It's an answer full of emotion. You know, these places are 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.

[Richard Fink]

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, this. And feel for a moment that they live in a beautiful corner of Los Angeles.

[N/A]

Exactly. This is the home of Angelenos. It's the home of Californians.

[Richard Fink]

Can you even begin to describe the psychic injury that has been inflicted on.

[Ilsa Cheng]

People who have used outdoor space as.

[Richard Fink]

Solace and are now looking at the charred remains of what used to be an incredibly beautiful park?

[N/A]

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 our. What makes us human. I'm heartbroken.

[Ilsa Cheng]

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.

[Barbara Tejada]

Oh, there's a deer right now.

[Richard Fink]

Oh, yeah, I do. A lone deer just walking tentatively into the stable.

[Ilsa Cheng]

Oh, yeah, there's another. We see them walking in the abandoned horse pasture.

[Barbara Tejada]

Nature does come back. Continue.

[Richard Fink]

What does that feel like to you, to watch the deer come back?

[Barbara Tejada]

Hopeful life goes on.

[Ilsa Cheng]

Things will return.

[Barbara Tejada]

Yeah.

[Ilsa Cheng]

A small reminder that nature ultimately is resilient and that this beautiful park will come back one day. This episode was produced by Kyra Joachim, Michael Levitt and Elena Burnett. It was edited by Christopher Inteliata. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. 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 Ailsa Chang.

[Ron Rudson]

This message comes from Monday.com Work management platforms red tape, endless adoption time, IT bottlenecks. And after all that, nobody really uses them. But what if you didn't hate your work platform? What if you actually loved it? Monday.com work management platform is different. You can make any changes you want and adapt it to your needs in an instant. No admin middleman. That's why people actually love using it. Monday.com, the first work platform you'll love to use.

[N/A]

This message comes from Charles Schwab. When it comes to managing your wealth, Schwab gives you more choices like full service, wealth management and advice when you need it. You can also invest on your own and trade on thinkorswim. Visit schwab.com to learn more. Support for NPR and the following message come from IXL Learning IXL Learning uses advanced algorithms to give the right help to each kid, no matter the age or personality. Get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when you sign up [e-mail] NPR.