Sunset

SUNSET celebrates your love of Western living. Discover new weekend and day trip destinations, inspiring homes and gardens, and fast and fresh recipes that highlight the West's great local ingredients.

Protect the West

Sunset

Forever Strong • Since its groundbreaking April 1906 earthquake issue, Sunset has chronicled the West’s natural disasters with an eye toward resilience, rebuilding, and the beauty that endures.

The Song Remains the Same • California’s state song is an enduring celebration of what we hold dear.

Smoldering Dawn

Behind the Alex Israel Cover • Artist Alex Israel has become the contemporary art world’s standard bearer of LA culture. Here’s how the cover of this issue came to be.

Why California Is Still Worth Fighting For • This artwork, which also appears on our back cover, was created by Michael A. Reinstein in the days immediately following the fires. It takes its inspiration from the iconic image of a bear hugging California that first appeared on the 1913 songbook for “I Love You California,” the official state song.

From Tragedy to Triumph in Los Angeles • The Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles are a reckoning for this city and for all of the West. In this issue, we mourn our losses, celebrate our heroes, and offer a blueprint for surviving and thriving in this place we cherish and call home.

The Devastating Toll of the LA Fires • A visual record of the impact on LA County.

A LESSON FROM THE PAST • As anyonewho’s lived long enough in California knows, there is an inevitability to the fires, but these two photos taken nearly 90 years apart are a stark reminder ofnature’s fury and the topographical reality that we must now address with better land management and better building practices. They’re also a statement of our steadfast refusal to cede our place on these perilous, beautiful bluffs and this coastline like no other.

North of Yellowstone

Palisades for Life • Armed with a garden hose and a lifelong love of the Palisades, Sam Laganà stayed to fight the fires. This is his story.

An Artist Remembers Altadena • Painter Salomón Huerta recalls the harrowing moments of escaping his home and haven.

A View from Above • A Cal Fire Battalion Chief describes the harrowing first days of fighting the L.A. fires from the cockpit of a state-of-the-art helicopter just 50 feet above the flames.

Reflections on Loss • Los Angeles history expert, TV personality, writer, and lifelong Angeleno, Alison Martino mourns the loss from the fires.

On Adversity and Creativity • Designer Amber Lewis shares her thoughts on rising to the challenges of rebuilding the California dream home.

Why I’m Never Leaving Malibu • Rich Roll on impermanence, uncertainty, and not giving up on the land he loves.

“You’re Living in a Fireplace” • Architect Doug Burdge knows from experience: He’s lost homes to fires in Malibu and has helped numerous clients rebuild after losing theirs. He’s learned from loss and is creating and demanding change. Here’s his blueprint for building better.

An Idea House Born From the Fires • Our 2022 Sunset Idea House was a Doug Burdge rebuild of Andrea Tennant’s home that was lost to the Woolsey Fire in 2018. It incorporates heatresistant windows, metal roofing, and flameretardant siding. “We honored the original home in a style we refer to as ‘transitional.’ It isn’t too modern or too traditional. It’s a family home that’s made for entertaining and enjoying the beautiful Malibu climate,” Burdge says. “And in many ways, it’s better and more resilient than the original home.”

The New Non-Negotiables for Fire-Resistant Homes • Burdge Architects’ work has led it to adopt and advocate for a series of best practices to “harden” homes against wildfires....