Letters to the Editor: First fire, now rain -- in L.A., I felt what it was like to be a climate refugee
To the editor: We were among the nine homes on Lockridge Road in Studio City that were evacuated late on Sunday night. Although we knew we would be OK, for a few hours we had the lost feeling of being climate refugees. (“L.A.’s monster storm was even worse in some areas than the alarming forecasts,” Feb. 7)
We cannot praise our fire and police departments enough for their professionalism and kindness to us. They administrated the evacuation so efficiently. The Bureau of Street Services also cleaned up the mud and rocks on the street within hours.
We are back in our home now, but we are watching the hill behind us. We are aware that even with a respite from the rain, the drenched soil may still move.
For the 32 years that we have lived here, our main concern has been fire. We have never faced flood or mud before, and this storm is just a beginning.
It is well past time for our nation and the world to face the reality of climate change.
Lynette Berg Robe, Studio City
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To the editor: As I watched the rain fall for days outside my Southern California window, I couldn’t help but think about the damage left behind by storms like these. Over a few days, we received almost a typical year’s worth of rain. Flooding, mudslides and falling rocks have created much devastation.
News articles use terms like “atmospheric rivers,” “bomb cyclones” and “hundred-year storms,” but basically they all mean these events are more severe. They are also more frequent, and the storm may have caused $11 billion in damages.
Later in the year, we may have to worry about wildfires causing more havoc.
We need to take serious action to mitigate the effects brought on by our changing climate. We can reduce our use of fossil fuels and shrink our carbon footprints without sacrificing modern conveniences. Inaction is too costly.
Jonathan Light, Laguna Niguel
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To the editor: As this article points out, weather forecasts have greatly improved recently. I saw forecast models that predicted the storm stalling over Los Angeles several days ahead of its arrival — in fact, before the storm had even developed.
The power and accuracy of these models have become impressive. Perhaps we should all be taking seriously the climate change predictions being made by very similar models.
John La Grange, Solana Beach
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To the editor: I promise that I will never ever again complain about a lack of rain in Southern California. Honest!
Jay James, Pico Rivera
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To the editor: I’d like to give a shout out to the maintainers — the unsung men and women of our Los Angeles Department of Water and Power who work around the clock to keep our electricity flowing.
Thomas Bliss, Los Angeles
