My heart aches for Los Angeles. It’s not enough that we have people bagging on us from all over the world, but in addition to a horrid budget crisis, water shortage, etc.,  in a matter of a few days, 148,258 acres of this city burned free. Two firefighters were lost, dozens and dozens of homes were destroyed and our lives were disrupted by more than just traffic.

After two sleepless nights where all I could manage to inhale was the pungent smell of smoke, and another two where I  was thisclose to being evacuated before a fire swallowed up my house whole, all I could think of was how much my heart aches for this city.

Growing up, I never felt a particular connection to where I lived, it was just, well, somewhere I happened to live.  But as I got older and started to explore more of L.A. including a 35-mile traffic romp across the city every day, I realized that I care about Los Angeles more than I ever knew. And I had this insane desire in me to defend it, and find the beauty in it and try to get transplants to understand that there was more to Los Angeles than the west side and palm trees.

Mt. Wilson for example, which was severely threatened by the Station Fire, is home to the  100-inch Hooker telescope on which Edwin Hubble made discoveries that lead to the Big Bang Theory. The Wildlife Way Station, a 160 acre non-profit animal sanctuary and rehabilitational facility is more or less five minutes from my house.  Then there’s the Adams Pack Station, also threatened by the fire and  believed to be the last pack station in the United States, which serves 80 cabins in the Chantry Flats area. Cabins in Los Angeles. Who would’ve thought?

When I drove through my neighborhood of La Crescenta and Tujunga, trying to get more information and photos about this fire that was really putting a damper on our summer, I took in how much nature I’m surrounded by. I mean, I see deer coming down the mountain behind my house. Altadena is home to a native parrot population. If you go as high as you can near Angeles Crest, you will see signs telling you to beware of mountain lions.  Tujunga was once a socialist Utopian colony. Its location also frees it from some air pollution that plagues the rest of Los Angeles.

Besides the wildlife and recreational benefits, the residents of these areas are not cut from the same cloth as the stereotypical Angeleno. Case in point: When I drove to work yesterday morning, I saw handmade signs thanking firefighters and calling them heroes hanging from the bridges above the freeway and at Stop signs on major streets. Even Century 21 changed its marquee to reflect gratitude. In addition to that, many residents decided to band together last weekend in an effort to save their houses.

“We started thinking smart and came up with a plan,” said Greg Lievense, 54, an engineer at nearby Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

The group broke up into teams of three with an agreement that no one would be alone for the duration of the emergency. One neighbor began stockpiling ladders and flashlights.

“We broke up into ‘ember shifts,’ ” Lievense said.

“We developed an emergency signal — three long car honks — which would mean that a home is on fire and we need help or we all have to leave,” he said.

Their mission in turn would be to peer into the eaves and backyards of neighbors’ homes with flashlights in search of glowing embers or flames and respond if possible.

How awesome are these people? So awesome.

Though it’s a given any Los Angeles resident is upset about this fire, especially since it is now being treated as arson, along with a homicide investigation because of the two brave firefighters who lost their lives, there’s something else that has been itching in my head. This isn’t really how I wanted my neighborhood to get on the map. Neither was the Michael Jackson funeral and memorial service. Every cloud has its silver lining though, I suppose and I’m hoping that those in L.A and beyond realize that this city has such a rich background and isn’t just a bunch of connecting freeways, cars and plastic surgery.

There are so many treasures here, the important thing is that you have to go looking for them.