The devastation from the fires in Southern California is far from how anyone wanted to start 2025. But climate change doesn’t care about our New Year’s resolutions, and it doesn’t stop even when there’s hopelessness in the smoke-filled air. The fact of the matter is, climate change is getting worse. And while fires are a natural way for the environment to heal itself during the normal wildfire season, these winter fires demonstrate just how quickly things are evolving.
As a New Yorker who loves Los Angeles dearly—it’s one of my favorite cities in the entire world and I thank Forbes for allowing me to explore it over the past decade through countless reporting trips—it’s beyond heartbreaking to witness the loss that thousands are facing right now. And yet I’ve also been inspired by glimmers of hope. Communities are coming together to support those affected. Chefs are cooking for the unhoused. It’s all a crucial reminder that, in the face of crisis, neighbors are sometimes all we’ve got. And, with that support, we can still make it out on the other side.
If you’ve been moved by this crisis, consider donating to mutual aid networks in LA, World Central Kitchen, which is feeding first responders, or emergency food networks like Project Angel Food and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Or one of the countless other organizations aiding the efforts.
And if you want to dig deeper into what’s driving food insecurity amid the climate crisis, consider joining me at one of my upcoming in-person events for the paperback tour of my book Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and the Fight for the Future of Meat. It takes all of us. And the first step is knowing the truth, no matter how grim it is.
