Tragedy strikes while children play outside. It slithers in when a woman warms up oatmeal for breakfast, or when a grandfather bends down on weathered knees to the floor for prayer. Inopportune, scalding, tragedy slices silently through any veneer of normalcy, revealing a truth that lies dormant, just underneath.

Tragedy struck the city of Los Angeles in the nascent days of the new year, and it came swiftly and carelessly and with wicked heat, taking the lives of 29, the homes and memories and possessions of thousands, and the livelihoods of countless others. When theSanta Ana winds blew flames that scourged the topsoil and everything that was built upon it, so too did it clear away the topical movements, worries, and civic indiscretions of the everyday.

In the wake of unprecedented disaster in Los Angeles, after so much has been stripped barren and rubbed raw, there is tenderness. It bubbles up from the ground like a cool spring: Strangers offer shelter to anyone who might need; teams of friends and families funnel extra capital directly into the pockets of people who have lost everything.

Volunteers pour into food banks, and buy new diapers to drop off at YMCA distribution centers. Fundraisers crop up of all shapes and sizes in nightlife and sport and
farmers markets and workout classes. Schools hold vigils; celebrities marshall support from international fans. Much of LosAngeles is physically decimated, but much of it is more awake, and connected, than ever.

Actually, this infrastructure of care, and the people who have made it so robust, has existed here all along. The Angelenos that populate this sprawling metropolis really do want to see one another safe. Despite the geopolitical systems that divide us, despite the weighty traffic and the relentless algorithms that lend themselves to social apathy, Los Angeles has demonstrated that it has the capacity to take care of its own. Here, we have illustrated real efforts made in sectors across the city towards community relief: the Los Angeles Mutual Aid Network continued weekly food pantry efforts amidst the raging fires. See the Trans Dudes ofLA dance at Back on Our Feet relief effort night. See food trucks at Smorgasburg Los Angeles feeding firefighters for free, and theNHL holding vigil for those who fought the flames. See Stevie Wonder sing with Sting at the FireAid show; see Altadena Girls, an effort by a single teenage girl to help rebuild other affected teenagers’ wardrobes.

Los Angeles is ever-expanding. It is burnt now. It has burnt before. It will be rebuilt, again and again and again, made stronger each time by the Angelenos who love it— and each other—enough to make it beautiful.