"Incendio arrasa 'California Dreaming': una tragedia anunciada, según expertos" | U.S. | EL PAÍS English

Pacific Palisades ha desaparecido, pero su comunidad perdura. Cuando Chris Babcock llega a las ruinas de su hogar en la calle Las Lomas, llama a Steve Eckhoff, su vecino, desde el otro lado de la avenida. Los dos hombres, ahora en sus cincuenta años, se acercan y comparten un abrazo sincero, aunque breve.

It’s Thursday afternoon, and it’s been almost two days since they evacuated their homes, which stood just 20 meters from each other. When they fled, driven out by the relentless Palisades fire that has scorched 8,100 hectares of some of the most iconic terrain on the West Coast of the United States, their homes were still standing. Now, all that remains is a field of smoky flames, rubble, and nails.

“Many people ask if I’m going to rebuild,” Babcock says. “I will — but only if I have the same neighbors.”