At 7:12 on a bright Saturday morning, Elena Ruiz stood in the driveway of her family’s bungalow in Highland Park, staring at a mountain that had not been there the night before. Splintered fence boards leaned against a cracked dresser. Bags of plaster dust sat beside a rusted patio chair, and an old refrigerator blocked the path to the garage. Beyond the pile, the San Gabriel Mountains shimmered faintly in the haze.
