Currently in Los Angeles — August 22, 2023: Picking up the pieces from Hilary

The weather, currently.

By Monday afternoon, looking up at the skies at least, most signs of Hilary were gone. But debris, downed branches (and even trees) were some of the signs left behind from the rare August storm.

Downtown L.A. recorded 2.48 inches of rain on Sunday, the wettest August day ever, besting a previous record set in August 17, 1977 — from then waning Hurricane Doreen. I told a friend that I don’t think I’ve ever seen it rain in L.A. that hard for that long ever outside of November to March.

Today, expect similarly cool weather, with temperatures in the low 80s away from the coast. Even notable hot spots like Woodland Hills will struggle to climb out of the mid 80s.

— Ade Adeniji

What you need to know, currently.

Ecuador has voted 59%-41% to protect its Yasuní UNESCO world biosphere reserve in the Amazon from oil drilling.

According to the ‘yes’ campaign, this is the first time in world history that a country has voted to prohibit oil drilling in order to protect its own biodiversity.

“The Amazon is worth more intact than in pieces, as are its people,” said Antonia Juhasz, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, which supported the ‘yes’ campaign.

According to the Guardian, “the move will keep about 726m barrels of oil underground in the Yasuní National Park, which is also home to the Tagaeri and Taromenane people, two of the world’s last “uncontacted” Indigenous communities living in voluntary isolation.”

The victory comes in the middle of what’s expected to be the hottest year in history and serves as further momentum for protecting the Amazon after deforestation in Brazil has slowed markedly this year under the leadership of the country’s new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

—Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

The fires in Maui have struck at the heart of Hawaiian heritage, and if you’d like to support survivors, here are good places to start:

The fires burned through the capital town of the Kingdom of Hawaii, the ancestral and present home to native Hawaiians on their original unceded lands. One of the buildings destroyed was the Na ‘Aikane o Maui cultural center, a gathering place for the Hawaiian community to organize and celebrate.

If you’d like to help the community rebuild and restore the cultural center, a fund has been established that is accepting donations — specify “donation for Na ‘Aikane” on this Venmo link.