Fuego

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LISTENING: to Bad Bunny's new album on repeat
FEELING: overwhelmed with grief
SEEING: nonstop photos of the destruction in L.A.

My TikTok feed is full of two things: videos of the L.A. wildfires and videos of Latines honoring their lost loved ones with the audio of Bad Bunny's new song "DtMF."

His whole new album by the same name — "DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS," which translates to "SHoULD'VE TaKEN MoRE PHOToS" — honors the reality that life is fleeting. We have only so much time on this Earth, in the places we love and have come to call home, and with the people who hold and break our hearts. It's a gorgeous record that makes me cry and dance all at the same time.

Though Bad Bunny is clearly writing a love letter to his beloved Puerto Rico, the album resonates beyond the hardships of the archipelago. Any Latine listening to this knows what he's saying. Any person understands the duality that, yes, life is hard, but it is also so damn beautiful.

As I listen to song after song, I think of L.A.'s Latine community. Nearly half of L.A. County is Latine or Hispanic. How many of the region's Spanish-speaking families were enjoying the album's rhythms and messages before fleeing from the fires this week? How many are now without a home, sheltering in hotels or with family, finding solace in Benito's lyrics?

Every time wildfires break out in California like this, my heart goes out to a particular group of people: the incarcerated firefighters putting their lives on the line for as little as $5.80 a day. On Wednesday, I reached out to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). The Guardian was faster than me and published the press statement in the wee morning hours: Todd Javernick at CDCR confirmed 395 incarcerated firefighters are on the frontlines of the five active fires affecting L.A. That's about 16 percent of the firefighting force, including the crew of 2,000 from CAL FIRE.

“Wildfires are a constant and formidable challenge for California, and CDCR conservation fire camps remain dedicated to supporting the state’s response,” said CDCR Secretary Jeff Macomber in an emailed statement. “The work of our incarcerated firefighters and staff is an essential part of this effort, and their commitment to protecting lives and property during these emergencies cannot be overstated.”

Across the internet, a few news sites are incorrectly stating that 30 percent of the firefighters combatting the flames in Los Angeles are incarcerated. (See: Forbes and Impact Media) As someone who has reported on California's Conservation Camps program for years, I know that its response varies from incident to incident. I pride myself on asking questions and confirming the facts rather than going off whatever Google or an outdated government website says.

While the majority of those battling these fires are paid and chose their careers on their own accord, the state, county, and city should be investing more money toward firefighting efforts without relying on prison labor.

Though local outlets reported that Mayor Karen Bass cut the city's firefighting budget by nearly $18 million last year, POLITICO has the facts:

That assertion is wrong. The city was in the process of negotiating a new contract with the fire department at the time the budget was being crafted, so additional funding for the department was set aside in a separate fund until that deal was finalized in November. In fact, the city’s fire budget increased more than $50 million year-over-year compared to the last budget cycle, according to Blumenfield’s office, although overall concerns about the department’s staffing level have persisted for a number of years.

Climate change is and will continue to make fires like this more and more deadly and devastating. However, human actions — or the lack of them — are what determine how bad a disaster will be. Maybe a mayor has failed to adequately fund a crucial department. Maybe a governor incentivizes putting low-level offenders behind bars so that they can fight fires for cheap. Maybe a president doubles down on the expansion of fossil fuels, the main driver of climate change.

Sigh.

In my favorite song from Bad Bunny's album, "BAILE INoLVIDABLE" or "UNFoRGETTABLE DANCE," Benito sings: "La vida es una fiesta que un día termina," which means, "Life is a party that one day ends."

None of our lives will last forever — at least not here on Earth. That much I know is true. With whom will we share a dance while we can? Whose footwork will we welcome? Whom will we embrace? How will we ensure that others can keep dancing long after our party is over?

In L.A., the wildfires have killed at least five people. They should've had more time — to love, to salsa, to cry, to swim, to write, to sing, to hug their queridos, to kiss, to bid a final farewell. They should've had more opportunities to take more photos. You still can, so don't be shy. Pick up that camera and shoot. 🌀

Rest in Power

While we can't say for certain that climate change led to these specific weather events (we need attribution studies for that), we do know that the Earth's rising temperatures are already creating more disasters like these.

All I'm finding this week are the five deaths confirmed from the L.A. wildfires.

Currently Reading

Joshua Kaplan at ProPublica has a hell of a piece out about a man who infiltrated far-right militias. Phew! This is worth a read.

Daniel Aldana Cohen and Thea Riofrancos have an important column in The New York Times about President Joe Biden's climate legacy: "All told, this looks less like an equitable green transition than what we call a Prius economy — a hybrid model of green energy and fossil fuels, wedged together side by side. Like hybrid cars, which can’t run on electricity alone, the Prius economy yields some climate progress while holding back more ambitious change. And it puts the burden of transforming sprawling energy infrastructures onto companies’ balance sheets and consumers’ bank accounts."

It's official: El Salvador reversed its mining ban. Heartbreaking news from Rhina Guidos for National Catholic Reporter.

The climate crisis is already fueling odd evolutions in wildlife, Patrick Greenfield reports for The Guardian.

I loved reading this essay by Kimberly Harrington in Seven Days, Burlington's premier independent paper in Vermont. Harrington writes: "It's funny to loathe something but also not want it to change. Early on, the occasional mild winter felt like a relief, even a gift, to me personally. But a run of them is alarming. Every time I arrive at a spring that feels marginally warmer than the winter turned out to be, I wonder if I earned it. There is something so laughably puritanical about feeling like you must suffer first to deserve joy."

To provide necessary context to last week's newsletter, the International Disaster Database has confirmed at least 11,500 deaths in 2024 could be linked to climate change. Shanna Hanbury has the story for Mongabay.

On a similar note, scientists are finding that more people are dying due to extreme cold, Anna Phillips reports for The Washington Post. The mortality rates more than doubled from 1999 to 2022.

Collage

I was planning to write about New York's congestion pricing today, but the wildfires felt more urgent. For any New Yorkers here: What do you think of the congestion pricing? I'd love to hear from you!

- Yessenia xx