The Los Angeles fires are a soul-crushing and city-defining disaster. Callous voices have called it a city-destroying event, but they don’t know Los Angeles very well.

A new wildfire was reported 5:09 p.m. Jan. 18 in Los Angeles County. Clear Fire has been burning on federal land managed by the United States Forest Service for four days. At this time, the containment status is unknown and the cause of the fire remains undetermined.