{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/8k74t6h04z/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Community responders: Noah Haggerty"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/200/original/lapl_logo.png?1628076950","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Agent"]},"value":{"en":["Science and Environment Reporter","LA Times","Noah Haggerty"]}},{"label":{"en":["Date"]},"value":{"en":["2025-12-15"]}},{"label":{"en":["Format"]},"value":{"en":["MPEG-4"]}},{"label":{"en":["Type"]},"value":{"en":["TheirStory"]}}],"provider":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Los Angeles Public Library"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Los Angeles Public Library"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/200/original/lapl_logo.png?1628076950","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/299/665/small/Screenshot_2026-01-09_at_10-36-35_Story_Hub_-_TheirStory.png?1767983812","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - open-uri20260108-2656257-lyvsc8.mp4"]},"duration":1528.66133,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/299/665/small/Screenshot_2026-01-09_at_10-36-35_Story_Hub_-_TheirStory.png?1767983812","type":"Image","format":"image/png"}],"items":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-lapl.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/299/665/original/open-uri20260108-2656257-lyvsc8.mp4?1767897175","type":"Video","format":"video/mp4","duration":1528.66133,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/transcript/88168","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["TheirStory Transcript (Paragraphs with Speakers) [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/transcript/88168/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"\u003cstrong\u003eSPEAKER_S1:\u003c/strong\u003e My name is Noah Haggerty. N o h h g g e r t y. And I'm a science and environment reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Yeah, I focus kind of. I honestly don't focus. I've been, um, a pretty general reporter. So anything that touches science or environment. Um, but I got into wildfire coverage because I was talking with one of our our bosses and about fires, and he just asked off the cuff if I'd be willing to cover fire someday. And I said, sure. And he apparently remembered that. Um, and so I've covered a few fires in person and then have been covering the the recovery and aftermath of fires. Um, and I try to take an environmental approach or just try to move forward with, like, a constructive conversation. So after these fires happened, we can actually learn something from them. I started in November 2024, so only a few months, um, before the Palisades and Eden fire. My first fire that I covered was the mountain fire up in Ventura County, and they sent me for two days, um, to do breaking news coverage. Um, and then I worked on a story after the fact, um, about, you know, what? What factors dictate if a home survives or doesn't because it can often seem super random. I reported from the ground in the Palisades. I went into the office that morning honestly, knowing that there was a pretty good chance that I would be covering a fire. Um, I'd covered fires before, and so, you know, I knew that the weather was bad, that we had these red flag warnings, that it was super dry. Um, but I went in and was having a normal Tuesday, and then my boss's boss came over to my desk, which is never a good thing, and asked if I was available to cover a fire. I said, yeah, yeah, I can drop what I'm doing. Where is it? And he just pointed out the window and said, there and there was already smoke rising from the Palisades. Um, that was probably around 10 a.m.. Uh, and so I grabbed all the the fire gear that we have in the office. So the yellow fire resistant, um, vest and hat and the light and a mask and got in my car, and my instructions were to just drive toward it. Um, and I go through, like, all the, like, almost the seven stages of grief while driving there because, you know, you're having a normal day and then you, like, are kind of in disbelief that, like, I need to get into this, like very activated mode, um, get very focused and I'm going to be firing on all cylinders for, you know, whoever knows how long. Um, and so there's definitely a process of like, realizing that and letting that sink in and then getting into that focused mode as you're, you're driving. Um, and. Yeah. So I drove to the Palisades and I started driving up PCH, um, until I hit PCH in sunset, because there was a lot of police activity and I saw people running and cars trying to flee. And I spent that whole first day there. Um, and that is where, um, a lot of the evacuation issues happened, uh, during the Palisades fire, um, as people were evacuating down sunset, a spot fire erupted right next to the evacuation route. Um, and the road was already gridlocked because so many people were trying to exit on so few roads. And when that fire erupted, police ran down the street and yelled at people to get out of their cars and run for their lives. And so then there was cars that blocked the entire evacuation route with no drivers in them. Um, and so I spent that day talking to folks that were, you know, running on foot, um, or who had come from elsewhere in L.A. and were trying to get back up because their family was was still up there. I yeah, I pulled into a Taco Bell parking lot and then like, the second I opened the car door, like the winds were, were crazy, you know, blowing my hair, it was, like, hard to hear people. Um, hard to get good audio recordings. The sky was was completely grayed out. It was like a grayish orange color, um, and the visibility was pretty low. Everything was was pretty smoky. And, um, there was a lot of, like, sirens nearby and echoing in the distance. Um, and so that was kind of the scene. It was like that, that wind, that low visibility people running. You have like little bits of ash falling and then like, the sound was just it was pretty quiet, but you'd hear like murmuring among folks. And then the sirens in the distance and the wind. Um, and so, yeah, I just got out of my car and just tried talking to any folks that I, I could, um, as that that scene developed and then I covered, I continued covering it from the ground the next two days. So Wednesday and Thursday as well. And Wednesday, the first thing they had me do was just drive up PCH to survey with the damage was along that road and I got there. I ended up doing like a morning shift, so I got up at like 5 a.m. and started driving and so it was still dark out. I probably got to PCH around six, 630 and I started driving up and I was, you know, stopping trying to document things. Wildfire has a very particular smell. The smoke is like different from like a campfire or anything else. And like I could smell that everywhere. I was driving over downed power lines. Um, some power poles or telephone poles had fallen onto the road. Um, there was like different fire trucks parked every which way. And I was just going up, um, and there was one section where the fire was still pretty bad. And as I was driving through, there was like lit embers that were still flying across the road. And then I have a very vivid memory that that has stuck with me since that day, where I was driving and to the left of me, one of the the buildings between PCH and the coast was on fire and the flames were like 30, 40ft high. And I remember as I was driving past, I could feel the heat of the flames on my face. And so I went and I touched the car window and it was still cold. It was just the radiative heat of the fire had was that strong? And um, so I was kind of meticulously doing that, going up PCH, trying to figure out what had been there in the first place, taking photos, sending it back to the office. And then at some point, you know, it's still dark out. And at some point I realized it was already like 9 a.m. I checked my watch and it was still dark because the smoke was so bad that I didn't even tell that sunrise happened. One thing that's interesting about covering a fire on the ground, um, is I had no clue what the larger picture was. You know, we had by, you know, within hours, dozens of reporters working on this. I was the first reporter for the LA times to be out there in the field. And so, you know, if you read the stories that my name is on with a bunch of my colleagues who all did wonderful work, you know, you get this beautiful, like overview of what's happening, the size of the fire, what the fire's response is, what people are saying on the ground. But when I'm on the ground, I have no clue what's happening in big Picture. I only know what's happening at PCH and sunset. Um, and it's interesting because folks would ask me like, you know, when I got home, my friends and family like, oh, what's going on with the fire? And I didn't know, like, I could tell them what happened at that intersection, but that was it. So it was it was very disconnected. It was almost like an island where, you know, everyone's, like, grasping for little bits of information through, through, you know, the chaos of what's happening. And so you talk to, you know, one person who like, I talked to one woman whose husband was still up there. Um, and fire crews had told her husband to shelter in place. And like, that was all the context that that we had. She didn't know about the fact that, um, the cars were stuck on the road and there was no way to evacuate. And so talking to someone else to piece that together. So everyone had really fragmented understandings of what was happening. Um, and the other thing that always shocks me is how kind and helpful people are during disaster. You know, I mean, it's an incredibly chaotic scene, but people have so much composure and are so focused on doing their best to not only keep themselves safe, but the strangers around them, um, and, and their family. That was, you know, some random resident of the Palisades that was like standing out helping direct traffic give people information on how to get out. Um, you know, people helping others, like, jump start their cars and all kinds of things like that. And so, um, you know, whenever I'm covering fire, either the chaos or the immediate aftermath where, you know, people lost their homes, yet everyone is so grateful that they're alive and they're safe and their their community is safe. Um, it always just gives me a little bit of faith in humanity again, um, that people are, you know, in some of the most challenging, chaotic moments of their lives are like, so grateful and, um, willing to, to help people around them. It was hard, um, as a journalist, like I pretty quickly have developed the instinct of, like, essentially drive toward fire. Like whenever I hear about a fire, like, that's my instinct is like, um, you know, I've heard from a lot of folks feeling helpless. We also talked about this, like feeling helpless, uh, when these things happen and wanting some way to help. Um, and I think like that is my way of of helping, of supporting a community that's going through so much. And so my instinct is to like when a fire is happening is to do everything that I can. And it was incredibly hard during the January fires because it was just so unprecedented. Like, I would go home at like 5 or 6 p.m., maybe I'd do like a radio interview or something because all the, all the national and international news wanted to know what was happening in LA. I'd quickly eat something, go to bed, like still thinking about the fires, and wake up and do it all over. And like I could not get my brain to turn off. You know those first that first week. Um, and so, like every waking hour, I was either working on the fire, thinking about the fire. And it's also it's it's hard when things get particularly dire because, you know, when I was at sunset and PCH, um, I'd covered some fires before, some, like, difficult evacuations. But once, once the evacuation route was blocked. I remember having this thought of like, people are going to die. Um, like, this is a very serious like that's when it hit that like, this is, this is not like your typical fire. And it's hard because my job in that chaotic scene is to do my best to understand what's happening, um, and help the community know what's going on. And it's hard because, you see, like, my most innate human instinct is to just help as many people as I can, like, like the urge to just, like, drop the notepad and start helping people evacuate is like, so great. Um, and so there's definitely like a tension there of, like, I, I need to like, find a balance between, like, doing my job. Um, and, um, you know, like, I would still do what I can to, to help folks, like, I help someone start their car, and I'm happy to give people water and help them understand what the evacuation routes are and things like that, but that's a hard tension to to deal with. Um, and you're also talking with people that are going through one of the most dramatic and emotional and vulnerable moments of their lives, likely. Um, and it can be hard to realize that what it means to be talking to a paper that at that moment had, like, national and international eyes on it. Um, and so I always tried to be very thoughtful and careful with folks, especially when you can tell that they're in a lot of emotional distress, um, to take a second and be like, I know my job is to get the story here and to to understand what's happening and to communicate that. But I also want to make sure that you understand the part that you are playing. Um, and that was a really hard thing for me because I it's I don't ever want to feel extractive, like I'm trying to get in and like, get the story. And then it's so hard to leave someone, you know, if someone's talking to you and they're crying about this was during the mountain fire. But someone told me they had just seen their family home had burned to the ground, and I happened to be there when they pulled up and I interviewed them and they were crying, and they told me that they were adopted and that they only had three photos of their birth mom, and two of them were in that house. Um. Man, it's it's it's hard to then have that interview for 15 minutes and know that I have to go. You know, I have to leave this person alone in front of this house. Um, because my job is to get the the full picture and help people, you know, understand what happened during the mountain fire. And that was a really hard thing for me to, to process after the fire, for sure, is, you know, that that I can't be with folks for I have these intense like vulnerable human moment with someone and then I have to leave and put that in the paper. Um, and so I do my best to Now think about it as extractive and not make it extractive, and make sure that there's an understanding of what it means to be in the paper and to help give people a platform to feel seen. This is an opportunity for you to to share with your community this experience. Um, you know, whether you think that it'll help people feel less alone, um, help people understand it or make sense of what happened. Um, and so that helped me kind of move forward. Um, you know, when everyone feels helpless and unable to help, this is maybe one way that they're able to give back to their community during such a chaotic and hard moment. It's it's it's a hard process. Um, there there was no way that the recovery was ever going to go incredibly smoothly. Um, you know, like at least in modern times, this kind of disaster is unprecedented. Precedented for la. No one, even the fire experts were ever expecting it to be as catastrophic as as it was and devastating as it was. And so after the fire, you know, there was definitely a few months where, you know, leaders, community and even like the papers, like trying to figure out how to make sense of it and how we move forward. And so there was a lot of growing pains. Um, and so, you know, I, on a personal level, like try to give grace with that, but it's also important that there's transparency about those, those growing pains. Um, and so, I mean, like one of the fundamental tensions has been between, um, getting getting the recovery and rebuilding process to happen as quickly as possible, but also to make sure that it's happening thoroughly and that, um, we're doing it safely. Um, and there's there's no real like, winning like that is a trade off that that is going to happen. And some folks are going to want to take a slower approach to make sure everything is as safe as possible, and some folks want to rebuild as quickly as they can because of the financial situation. And for a variety of reasons. And so that's been a really hard tension for, um, the government and um, communities to, to navigate. Um, I spent a lot of time after the fires because I cover science and environment and health looking at the environmental health impacts. Um, because these fires didn't just burn up trees, but homes, that and cars. So we're talking like car engines, batteries, plastics, uh, laundry detergents, paint thinners, anything that you can find in a home. And this all just went up in smoke and then was dispersed throughout the area. And so it could end up in drinking water, in the soil, in the air itself, um, in people's homes. Um, and so trying to figure out what is even in all these like, there's dozens and dozens of different contaminants that could be there and dozens of different locations, like in such an unprecedented situation. The science isn't there. Like we we didn't know like what it looks like after a fire like this. Um, and so it took a lot of effort from the scientific community to try to understand this as fast as possible and clearly communicate that to the public. Um, and that is in tension with people trying to rebuild, um, you know, in somewhat of a quick manner so people can get back home, are not like living in expensive places, or far from work or far from family and things like that. Um, and so that's been like one of the fundamental tensions that I've seen in the recovery, um, after wildfire. There's always this kind of, uh, finger pointing, like political discourse that happens for months after the fact. Um, and a lot of times people will ask me like, okay, like, you've covered this, who you know, who's responsible, like who's to blame, And I always say anyone that is saying that there's a single person or a single agency to blame is like, that is not true. You know, there's a lot of things that could have been done to make the fire. Uh, not as bad as it was, uh, to make the firefighting effort go smoothly, to make sure, um, that we were prepared for a fire like this, to make sure that the recovery happened faster and smoother. There's a lot of things that we could have done differently. Um, some of that is easy to say in hindsight. Um, and also, it was it was not a single person that was responsible for making all those decisions. It was the community themselves. Uh, it was, you know, even, you know, reporters. It was, uh, our government elected leaders. Uh, so I think, you know, that blame game always happens after fire, but I think it's important for us to try to have constructive conversations about like, what went wrong, how do we fix it, and what do we learn for unfortunately, inevitably, when another fire happened somewhere in in the American West or elsewhere. One of the the most interesting pieces to report on for me was drinking water systems after a fire. Um, because there's a really well established protocol for what to do after fire for the tap water, essentially. Um, and I was shocked to learn that this protocol only started in 2017. So, like, pretty recently after the Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa. Um, and I think that painted a really good picture of, like, how we can learn from fires. And then LA is almost like a success story. So after the Tubbs Fire, um, as soon as people started moving back into their homes and, um, the water utility was able to repressurize the system during a fire. Like, fire crews are pulling so much water out of fire hydrants that they lose water pressure. And that's where we have like the water issues. So afterward, the utility crews have to go through and manually shut off every fire hydrant and at every destroyed homes, they have to shut off the water pipes. So it's not just leaking out into the neighborhood. So after that happened, they restored water pressure, and then people moved back into their homes and someone turned on their tap water and it smelled like gasoline. And so they sent out their crews to test the water. And it had, um, really high levels of a contaminant in it. And what they discovered had happened was, as you have these higher elevations in these lower elevations, and as the system lost water pressure and the water level through all the networks of pipes underground dropped first in the top of the hills and then down into lower elevations, it left just a vacuum in all the pipes. And so those open fire hydrants in higher elevations started sucking in wildfire smoke. And so those wildfire smoke in the water utility system, and no one knew that this was a thing that was happening before the Tubbs Fire in 2017. And so there was a huge effort to, first of all, figure out that that is what is happening, because it's a really weird effect that it's like not super intuitive. And then to figure out what to do about it. And so there was this protocol that was developed to essentially flush out the systems. You open all the fire hydrants at the lower elevations and just flush water through to try to flush out the contaminants. You close it. You tested all these spots. You determine, okay, there's still some contamination here. And you flush that part out and you keep repeating this over and over and over. After the Tubbs Fire, it took like a year for them to restore drinking water. Um, same thing after the camp fire up in Paradise. Um, that was like eight months. And they've gotten better and better at doing this. And after the LA fires, they immediately put out a do not drink notice because they knew that this was a problem. So it was people, anyone that went back to their homes like don't drink the water. And like within days they had restored water pressure. And it started that flushing process. And water, um, like potable drinking water was restored to both areas, mostly within two months, but definitely within like 4 or 5 months, which is the fastest that it's ever happened before. Um, and so I think that's a success story where we very quickly after we learned that this was a problem, understood what the health risks were, were for people, clearly communicated what people needed to do, you know, don't drink the water, don't use it for, um, doing your laundry, things like that. And then how to quickly solve the problem. And in just a few years, there's been so much of a difference with how we approach that problem. And you can see that like where in the 2017 Tubbs Fire, they were trying to make sense of the water problem that is happening in LA for things like soil testing, um, contamination within people's homes. And so as I see the pain and the struggle that people are going through with those different contamination issues, it gives me some hope that through the reporting that my team is doing through the dozens of scientists from around the country that dropped everything to start studying LA and learn what's happening, that we will be able to more quickly and safely recover in future fires. That's a good question. And that's always my last question in an interview. So good job. Um. Let's see. Uh, I think the only other thing that I would say is it's been really interesting, like seeing how my own headspace has shifted from the breaking news coverage of the first few days of the fire to, like, trying to make sense of the environmental health impacts after the fact. Um, because I've always been in environment and health and science. Reporter so I've always been supposed to be thinking about all these like environmental health issues. Um, even before the fires. But the first three days when I was on the ground in the Palisades, like I was not worried about the air quality or any of these things, I didn't I honestly didn't do a great job wearing my mask, um, and taking all those health precautions. And that's no fault of the L.A. times. They provided me the mask. They told me what I was supposed to be doing, and I didn't do it. And a lot of folks that I talked to, like, thought the same way. My colleague in the office had actually asked me to talk to folks in the Palisades about air quality and their concerns because, um, you know, a lot of my own family and friends from LA and elsewhere were worried about the air quality. And so I was like, all right, I'll go talk to folks. And they were all like, like I'm in survival mode. Like, I don't know if my home safe. I don't know where all my friends and family are. Like, I don't care about the air quality. Like respectfully. And that's how I felt too. And it's been weird then like after the fact, like, then I spent four months reporting on the health effects of what was in that air. And it's just like it's human nature to not be worried about, you know, like what? What could the health problems be a year or two years down the road? For me when I'm worried about, like, the 30 foot flames right in front of me? Um, and I don't know, it's just been interesting to think about that and to write about that, to help people understand that that is like a part of human nature and even people that like, it's my job to be thinking about these things and I wasn't doing it. Um, I just hope that, like, maybe we can learn, um, and be a bit better about taking the simple steps during the fire, um, to protect ourselves, um, to think about our safety in the moment. And and two years down the road. Um, so, yeah, it's just been an interesting transition, uh, mentally going from that, like, survival mode to then, like, reaching for any data I can get about what the environmental health impacts are, um, and all the uncertainty that comes with that. And then like having some closure of just like, okay, I have the data that, that I, I could possibly have and now I just have to, you know, be at peace with that and know that, like, I can hear the like simple steps that I can take moving forward to reduce, um, the risks of having adverse health effects down the road. And that's all we can really do.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=4.0,1523.02"}]},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Auto-generated Index (2025-12-15 17:35:34) [Index]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Introduction and Background","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=0.0,60.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker introduces themselves as Noah Haggerty, a science and environment reporter for the Los Angeles Times. They explain their generalist approach to reporting, covering any topic related to science or the environment. The speaker recounts how they began covering wildfires after a casual conversation with a supervisor, which led to their involvement in fire reporting and a focus on constructive, environmentally informed coverage.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=0.0,60.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"First Experiences Covering Fires","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=60.0,90.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker describes starting their role at the Los Angeles Times in November 2024, just before major fires like the Palisades and Eden fires. Their first fire assignment was the Mountain Fire in Ventura County, where they spent two days on breaking news coverage and later wrote about factors influencing home survival during wildfires. This period marked their initial hands-on experience with wildfire reporting and set the stage for their approach to covering such events.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=60.0,90.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The Palisades Fire – Initial Response and On-the-Ground Reporting","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=90.0,236.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker recounts being assigned to cover the Palisades fire, describing the moment they were called to action and the immediate shift from a normal day to crisis mode. They detail the process of gearing up, driving toward the fire, and mentally preparing for the intense focus required during such emergencies. Upon arrival, the speaker witnesses the chaos of evacuation, including gridlocked roads, spot fires, and police urging people to abandon their cars and flee on foot, highlighting the urgency and danger of the situation.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=90.0,236.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Sensory Experience and Observations During the Fire","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=236.0,267.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker vividly describes the sensory environment while covering the fire, including strong winds, low visibility, and the pervasive smell of smoke. They note the difficulty in communicating due to noise and environmental conditions, as well as the eerie atmosphere created by the gray-orange sky and falling ash. The speaker also recounts specific moments, such as driving past burning buildings, feeling the heat from the flames, and realizing that the darkness was due to smoke rather than the time of day.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=236.0,267.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Continued Coverage and Realizations About Reporting in Disaster","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=267.0,559.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker reflects on the challenges of reporting from the ground during a disaster, including the lack of a comprehensive view of the situation and the fragmented information available to both reporters and residents. They discuss the process of piecing together the story through interviews and observations, as well as the remarkable kindness and composure displayed by people helping each other during the crisis. These experiences reinforce the speaker's faith in humanity and highlight the community's resilience in the face of chaos.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=267.0,559.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Emotional and Ethical Challenges of Disaster Reporting","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=559.0,864.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker delves into the emotional and ethical complexities of reporting on disasters, describing the instinct to help versus the professional duty to document events. They share the difficulty of witnessing suffering, the urge to assist directly, and the responsibility to balance empathy with journalistic integrity. The speaker also discusses the importance of being sensitive when interviewing people in distress, striving to avoid being extractive and instead offering a platform for individuals to share their experiences with the broader community.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=559.0,864.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Recovery, Community Response, and Environmental Health Concerns","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=864.0,1040.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker discusses the challenging and unprecedented nature of recovery after major fires in Los Angeles, acknowledging the growing pains faced by leaders, communities, and the media. They highlight the tension between the need for swift rebuilding and the importance of thorough, safe processes, especially regarding environmental health. The speaker emphasizes the complexity of contamination from burned homes and vehicles, the uncertainty in scientific understanding, and the efforts to balance public health with the urgency of returning people to their homes.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=864.0,1040.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Political and Systemic Issues in Fire Recovery","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=1040.0,1120.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker addresses the political aftermath of wildfires, noting the tendency for blame and finger-pointing among various stakeholders. They argue that no single person or agency is solely responsible for the outcomes, as many factors and decisions contribute to the scale and response to such disasters. The speaker advocates for constructive conversations focused on learning from mistakes and improving future responses, rather than assigning blame, to better prepare for inevitable future fires.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=1040.0,1120.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Lessons Learned and Success Stories in Fire Response","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=1120.0,1358.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker highlights the evolution of protocols for restoring drinking water after wildfires, using the Tubbs Fire as a turning point for understanding and addressing water contamination. They explain the technical challenges of water system contamination, the development of new protocols, and the improvements seen in Los Angeles's response. The speaker views these advancements as success stories, demonstrating how rapid learning and collaboration among scientists and officials can lead to safer, more efficient recovery efforts in future disasters.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=1120.0,1358.0"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Personal Reflections and Shifts in Perspective","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=1358.0,1528.66133"},{"id":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665/index/90425/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The speaker reflects on their changing mindset from immediate crisis response to long-term health considerations, acknowledging their own initial disregard for air quality during the fire. They note that both they and the people they interviewed were focused on survival rather than future health risks, a common human reaction in emergencies. The speaker expresses hope that greater awareness and simple precautions can help reduce long-term risks, and describes the process of seeking closure through data and understanding, ultimately accepting the limits of what can be controlled.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Synopsis"]}}],"target":"https://lapl.aviaryplatform.com/collections/3578/collection_resources/164557/file/299665#t=1358.0,1528.66133"}]}]}]}