Los Angeles Against the Mountains

                The third chapter of McPhee’s “The Control of Nature” continues to play out similar themes as seen in the earlier two chapters. This time however, the conflict is not between something as dynamic and unpredictable as the great Mississippi or an erupting volcano, but something that is usually thought of as steadfast: mountains. McPhee quickly makes the point that the mountain ranges bordering the city of Los Angeles are anything but steadfast and sturdy, but are responsible for massive “debris flow” and other natural disasters. Not only that, but the mountains which one Spanish scientist exclaimed would soon completely slide away, are actually growing taller despite the constant loss of mass to debris flows.

                More than the divergence of the Mississippi, and even more than the volcano erupting at Heimaey, the debris flows caused by the mountains are responsible for considerable loss in human life. Both claimed/have claimed minimal lives. The story that opens this chapter however shows a family of four nearly drowning in their own home. McPhee drives home that, when matched to the rather slow deviation of the Mississippi, and the relatively slow and steady advancement of the lava flows in Iceland, the debris flows happen instantaneously. The debris flow carries with it everything from dirt to boulders, even automobiles and nearly everything that is unfortunate enough to be caught in the path of the flow. The end result, of course, is a loss in life, and also an extreme loss of money paying for repairs.

                Despite the scale of the debris flows, their size, speed, and frequency, compared to the conflicts in other chapters, McPhee points out a surprising amount of similarities between the other two chapters. A prominent theme, especially in the beginning, is people’s insistence to live in places where it may not be in their best interests to do so, and often forget or remain ignorant to the dangers that they may face. McPhee tells the story of Wade Wells from the United States Forest Service, who was curious how many people living at the site of a debris flow remembered the last major one, which had occurred less than a decade prior and 20 miles away. With the exception of two people, no one did. Debris flows in the hills of Los Angeles are a serious issue, and yet the people living in a place that had just been hit by one had no knowledge of a similar event happening only nine years prior.

                Although the “war with nature” rhetoric is less present, it is still there. The government built reservoirs waiting to fill up with boulders and other debris, or the privately built barricades constructed by residents who are just a little bit more worried about debris flows than their neighbors can be compared to an army “digging in” when going under siege. People like living there, and it seems that no amount of flooding or fires is going to make people think otherwise. This sentiment is put more straightforwardly by one of Aimee Miller’s neighbors: “there isn’t a prettier, more secluded canyon in Southern California, when it isn’t on fire or being washed away. Each time we have a disaster, only one or two families move out…people live here, come hell or high water.”.

                One more thing that is worth mentioning is the uniquely stark divide between technosphere and biosphere shown in this chapter. We’ve talked often in class about the two are becoming harder and harder to distinguish from eachother. McPhee shows us that this is not always the case. Moving up into the canyons and through the “marine layer” you very suddenly find that you are no longer in town. Hang gliders fly off the cliffs and land somewhere in town. A hiker suffering from hypothermia walks off the trails and into a phone booth to call for help. The overly steep hills of the mountains give way to the smog producing city almost immediately, and without warning.

                “Los Angeles Against the Mountains” continues McPhee’s themes of humans being rather stubborn when it comes to nature. Whether it be controlling rivers, volcanic eruptions, or debris flows, people seem to be very bent on exerting that control. There are casualties on our side, but it seems to not make a difference. However, there continues to be that sort of inevitability. Rivers will continue to change course, volcanoes will continue to erupt, and the mountains bordering Los Angeles will continue hurling boulders and other debris at the upper class neighborhoods just below them. But that doesn’t seem to stop us.