America is a vast land, and each region is prone to its own kind of disasters. In California, earthquakes and fires are our greatest fears. I went down to the beach every day for a week during the time of the Pacific Palisades fire. The expectation was that each day would show improvement, more fire containment. On Day 4, the smoke still spewed forth. This photograph taken from Santa Monica Pier made me feel hopeless. The winds had continued and by this point, it seemed like an impossible situation.