“It is during
our darkest moments
that we must focus
to see the light.” 
Aristotle Onassis

It has been more than two weeks since the Pacific Palisades fire broke out in Los Angeles, destroying hundreds of homes belonging to some of Southern California’s most wealthy and well-known residents. It is currently 68% contained. Sadly, the destructive inferno was not the only casualty of the vicious Santa Ana winds. Later that evening, the Eaton fire ignited in the Altadena area of Los Angeles County, devastating entire neighborhoods of homes of working-class families. That fire is now 90% contained.

It is always tragic to see news coverage of these types of events. For some, the magnitude of the fires became more real when they recognized the names of well-known celebrities whose homes were destroyed: Mel Gibson, Jeff Bridges, Mandy Moore, Julia Louise-Dreyfus, Rikki Lake, and Billy Crystal to name just a few. We feel a sense of compassion for them, and rightly so. For me, the fires became real just a few days ago when I learned that someone I know lost her home in Altadena.

Bernadette, her husband, and their 18-year-old son woke up at 3:00 a.m. one morning to find the flames inching dangerously close to their property. They had not received an official evacuation order, but they wisely packed up what they could and prepared to move to a safer location. By 6:00 a.m., their home was engulfed in flames. Virtually everything they owned was lost in the fire. (The photo above was taken by Bernadette as she watched the flames devour her home.)

Speaking with my friend, hearing her harrowing account of escaping the inferno with her husband and son, and seeing photos she took of her home going up in flames, made the L.A. fires of 2025 all too real for me. 

I also saw images of what little remains of the burned-out Will Rogers home in Pacific Palisades. I visited this property just a few months ago while touring the Los Angeles area with a good friend. The home, and its surrounding property, had been donated to the State of California and became a popular State Park.

It is difficult to comprehend how many individuals were impacted by these fires, but knowing Bernadette’s story, and hearing that thousands of others experienced the same fate, reminds me that even in our darkest moments, we are challenged to “see the light” and ask ourselves, “Where is God in this?”