Executive Briefing
The fires and what’s next
We’re about to rebuild two huge sections of Los Angeles — an unusual situation after a tragic disaster.
By Dan Frommer on Saturday, January 18, 2025 at 8:00 am
Hello hello. It’s Dan Frommer, back with The New Consumer. How are you?
First, thanks to those of you who have checked in over the past couple of weeks, following the horrible fires here in Los Angeles. We were lucky, and are fine. My deepest sympathies if any of you have lost your home, been displaced, or have otherwise been affected by this disaster.
It has been heartening to see the internet and local businesses kick into high-gear response: Organizing volunteer and donation campaigns to deliver food and other items and services to those in need; the Altadena Girls pop-ups that quickly assembled rooms full of donated clothing, beauty, and personal care products; strangers curating Google Docs lists of GoFundMe campaigns for easier giving.
While these fires were mostly physically constrained to two parts of greater Los Angeles, the disaster’s magnitude (while not as densely populated, Altadena alone is a ~quarter of the size of central Paris, or a ~third of the size of Manhattan) and visibility (LA’s prominence as a city; the wealth and celebrity of many affected) will make the recovery a globally relevant story for many years to come.
(To better appreciate the size of these fires, check out the inspection maps of the Palisades and Eaton fires — everything red is gone — or this hi-res satellite view of Altadena “after.” Unbelievable destruction.)
It is — fortunately — rare that we have to rebuild giant sections of major US cities, all at once. But that’s what is going to happen here, and it’s going to be fascinating.
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Hi, I’m Dan Frommer and this is The New Consumer, a publication about how and why people spend their time and money.
I’m a longtime tech and business journalist, and I’m excited to focus my attention on how technology continues to profoundly change how things are created, experienced, bought, and sold. The New Consumer is supported by your membership — join now to receive my reporting, analysis, and commentary directly in your inbox, via my member-exclusive newsletter. Thanks in advance.