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Because of a Fire Janet Kuypers 3/5/24 When we see a fire overtake the 850-year old Notre Dame, a monument to religion, beauty, history — then wildfires engulf islands, ravage a quarter-million acres annually, we are shocked by the loss from fire, that primal silent killer. But we keep candles lit, hear the crackling campfire, feel the fireplace warmth, which reminds us how we still love fire so. Because if mass fire seems to mean death and destruction, maybe, after, say, the 1871 great fire of Chicago that took over the only city I love, maybe that destruction only led to building something bigger, better, stronger, that made more sense. Even Chicago’s underground subways are made from the post- great fire pedestrian underground walkways. And when I now walk in diverse cultural neighborhoods until I reach the Lake, I turn to see the most beautiful skyline I’ve ever seen... that’s when it clicks. This frightening history of fire — that scares some so, well, afterward? That’s when people create something that seems so right. Because of a fire.

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