In the streets of Los Angeles, a cataclysm that evokes a volcanic eruption

The ruins of the houses still smoke on the beach. The Pacific Coast Highway has not stopped the fire that has been ravaging Los Angeles for several days. Fanned by the violent winds, the flames descended from the heights of Pacific Palisades crossed the roadway and ravaged the houses of Malibu. The world’s most famous beach is lined with their charred remains. The surf brings burnt boards to the shore. Ugly brown streaks float on the surface of the ocean.

On the slopes, the scale of the cataclysm evokes a volcanic eruption. On this Californian coast, where real estate prices reach dizzying heights, modern buildings leave far fewer vestiges than in Pompeii. The wooden and plywood houses have almost completely disappeared. All that remains are blackened chimneys rising into the sky, the cylinders of the water heaters and the square blocks of the air conditioners.

We recognize the carcasses of…