Los Angeles Against the Mountains Summary and Analysis

The struggle between Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Mountains shifts back and forth from winning to losing. Bob and Jackie Genofile can see over Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean bays on a calm day. Their one-acre home site is high in the mountains. Years ago they wake on a February night from sounds of lightning striking the mountain. The quiet neighborhood usually has only sounds of the creek dropping out of Shields Canyon to the Los Angeles River. River systems across the city from mountains to ocean are modified by man. Riverbanks and beds are concrete-reinforced. When boulders fall down the mountain they sound like rolling freight. The creek is silent despite the rain.

The Genofiles two teenage children are Scott and Kimberlee. Their rooms are on the uphill side of...