Homemade absinthe and Indian smoke signals

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Malibu:

Then there is the trio, called Le Resistance, sipping beer and homemade absinthe from the fourth-story veranda of a home called ‘The Phoenix,’ so named because it rose from the ashes of the 1993 fire and is made of fireproof concrete and steel.

It’s an architectural wonder.

From the veranda, Le Resistance has a panoramic view of Las Flores canyon and a sky literally full of up to four helicopters, two water bombers and a spotter plane, flying all at once, just a quarter of a mile further north.

Billowing orange and red clouds of smoke rising up from behind a ridge in the distance are the focus of their attention and afternoon musings.

‘It looks like Chumash Indians sending smoke signals and we are reading them. They’re saying, ‘It’s going to be all right for now,’’ said Yvonne Delarosa, an actress who appeared in the movie Helter Skelter and has a recurring role on Weeds.

The group also has a prime view of Delarosa’s two goats, Billy and Betty Ramone, named after the punk rock band. The animals have done an admirable job of clipping the brush from the hill overlooking her home below.

The home is owned by Tom Waljeski. Yvonne and her husband Sam, a director, own a home below the veranda.