Even more so than my other photos, these three are presented not for their photographic competence but rather as testimonials to what beauty remains after the Woolsey Fire.

I have not yet had the courage to head into the burn zones, to see what can be seen beyond the 101 freeway but I know the destruction is both awesome and terrible.

A good friend of mine spends much of his day riding (or is that racing?) on the canyon roads between the valley and PCH. The other day he told me he was depressed and without thinking I asked him why.

He said, “Because it’s all burned.”

I wanted to hit him with a philosophical way of looking at it but I stopped myself. In my heart I knew that I and many others felt exactly the same kind of deep loss that he did.

Others, of course, have lost more than can be imagined.

It all got me thinking once again about what we still have here in our corner of Los Angeles County. The answer is that we have a lot. The best of it now feels even more fragile and under threat than it did just a few weeks ago.

Anyway, I present these three images as small and humble testimonials to the beautiful hills and grasses and trees that are still here for us to enjoy.

Healing takes a long time.