A car burned from the Palisades Fire is seen at Will Rogers State Park, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on January 15, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Apu Gomes/Getty Images
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Apu Gomes/Getty Images
A car burned from the Palisades Fire is seen at Will Rogers State Park, in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on January 15, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Apu Gomes/Getty Images
Will Rogers State Historic Park is a vast stretch of natural space in the Santa Monica Mountains. It’s a treasure to Angelenos. People get married there, picnic there, and have kids’ birthday parties on the great lawn.
The park’s namesake, Will Rogers, was a vaudeville performer, radio and movie star, and was known as America’s “cowboy philosopher.”
His nearly century-old ranch house is the park’s centerpiece. It’s survived a near miss with wildfire before. Last week, as firestorm engulfed large parts of Los Angeles, this piece of American history was reduced to rubble.
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This episode was produced by Kira Wakeam, Michael Levitt and Elena Burnett.
It was edited by Christopher Intagliata.
Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
