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What’s Left of My House
Every single house on my block, on both sides of the street, burned to rubble in the fires. (Photo courtesy of the author)
On my street in Altadena, the only things still standing are the chimneys.
By Meghan Daum
01.12.25 — Culture and Ideas
15
50

There were no phone alerts. This seems hard to believe, since the phone lets out a screeching alarm for anything these days, including when an elderly person wanders away from home—a “Silver Alert.” But there was nothing, at least nothing that I received. On Tuesday when the winds picked up, I took some videos of my enormous Newfoundland dog, Hugo, sitt…

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Meghan Daum
Meghan Daum is the author of several books and the founder of The Unspeakeasy community. Follow her work on Substack at theunspeakablepodcast.com.
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City on Fire
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