At 2 p.m. last Sunday, Juan Galicia began his sermon at the small South Los Angeles church where he is a pastor. His theme at Ministerio Esperanza (Hope Ministry) that afternoon was how, in the most difficult times, God will not forget us.

At that moment, up in Hollywood, the four-bedroom home he had bought in 2008, that he, a licensed contractor, had renovated himself, where he and his wife had raised their three children, now in their 20s, was going up in flames.

Virtually nothing survived. Juan Galicia, a 55-year-old Salvadoran immigrant, and his family were left with only the clothes they wore to church. Three of their six dogs burned to death.

Read more on Substack