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. When news broke on a seemingly ordinary Tuesday that the Pacific Palisades was on fire, I made my way to Santa Monica Beach twice - once in the morning and again in the evening, expecting the morning smoke to have dissipated. Instead, I was greeted by a scene that conjures Mordor from The Lord of the Rings.