The Pacific Palisades had a “flavor,” as broker Anthony Marguleas remembers it. The residential neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles smacked of a modern-day Mayberry, the idyllic small town from “The Andy Griffith Show.

Civic leaders in the region believe that side efforts are necessary to rebuild after the wildfires. They just can’t settle on which one.

On the night of January 7th, as the Palisades Fire surged to 2,000 acres to the west and the Eaton Fire exploded to 1,000 to the east, I joined thousands fleeing hurricane-force winds that hurled embers for miles.