An Amazon package arrived at my door a few days after the Eaton and Palisades fires ignited. It contained a small air purifier, sent by friends who were worried about the city’s air quality. It underlined that, despite my Miracle Mile address, I was not impervious to the fire’s consequences. Even if I couldn’t see or smell them, microscopic particles were being blown across the state by robust winds that would enable the fires to burn through 38,000 acres, incinerating 16,000 structures alongside their contents — Hoka Bondis, Tesla car batteries, Magna tiles, Vitamix blenders, iPads, Stanley cups, High Sport pants — the stuff of life in the 21st century. That air purifier is still on, every filter change a reminder that nothing about the device, designed to keep me safe, is recyclable. It’s a microcosm of the dilemma facing homeowners as rebuilding slowly begins to take shape throughout the
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