The LA Library Fire
How did I happen to be reading about two major tragic fires at the same time? I don’t know, but recently I’ve been rereading The Library Book by Susan Orlean, which documents the disastrous fire in 1986 that burned the downtown library in Los Angeles. Below is a photo of the burning building. Long after the fire, in around 2003, I visited the library, which had been restored — at that time I was unaware of the fire, but now I see how horrible it was.
Note that the reason I started to reread this book is that Susan Orlean has just published a new book, which made me think about going back to this one. My earlier review is here (link) and the NY Times review of the new book here (link)
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| News photo of the library on fire |
Another Major Fire:
The Devastation of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
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| The New York Times magazine currently has a story (link) about the horrendous forest fire at the Grand Canyon that destroyed the forest, the historic lodge, and 100 other buildings last summer. We visited there on one of our cross-country trips in 2011. |
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| Looking through the burned-out building towards the Grand Canyon. What fabulous views the tourists at the lodge once enjoyed. |
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| The fury and speed of a major fire is staggering to contemplate. |
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| We took this photo at the North Rim Lodge in 2011 when we visited the Grand Canyon. Its destruction would have been unimaginable at that time. |
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| Photos from the web. |
Blog post © 2026 mae sander
Those fires were horrible, we have some great memories from our Grand Canyon visits. Take care, enjoy your day and the week ahead.
ReplyDeleteI liked that book about the Library fire. And the fire that destroyed the historic buildings of the north rim is really sad. I hope that it can get rebuilt to mimic the old lodge. It was a beautiful place.
ReplyDeleteI remember both that book (very good) and the Grand Canyon fire -- and worrying about it because the way fires move and my cousin's home not all that far away, it was a concern. I have lovely memories from seeing the Canyon.
ReplyDeleteBoth of these fires were great losses. Your photos are amazing. Thank you for sharing all of this.
ReplyDeleteI read the Orlean book some time ago, and I found it fascinating.
ReplyDeleteWe went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon more than twenty-five years ago. Somehow I missed hearing about that awful fire there last year.
I haven't been to the Grand Canyon since I was a small child and realize that, post fire, there are things I'll miss out on when I finally go back.
ReplyDeleteBush fires are the greatest natural tragedy that happens in the southern half of Australia most summers. But the disastrous fire that happened in the centre of Los Angeles sounds even worse. The treasures held in a huge library can never be replaced, even if every human worker and visitor was safe.
ReplyDeleteTous ces incendies de natures bien différentes sont une terrible calamité. C'est fort désolant de voir ce spot au dessus du grand Canyon dans un tel état... Sinon pour passer à un autre sujet, j'ai publié mercredi dernier un article qui devrait particulièrement vous intéresser. Cordialement.
ReplyDeleteI have visited the L.A. Public Library a year or so ago and enjoyed it very much. I bought a library membership for the e-content. So glad they restored the library. And I liked listening to the audio of the Library Book which Susan Orlean narrates.
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