Reconnecting in a time of isolation

LAST YEAR, AS THE TEMPERATURE IN OAKLAND, CALIF., SOARED AND THE OUTSIDE AIR APPEARED GRAY, I decided upon the revolutionary act of cracking open a window overnight. At midnight I woke to smoke inside my apartment, a snowstorm of ash swirling into my room and coating every surface in delicate lacy patterns, a potent reminder that very close by, homes, animals, forests were burning.

The evacuation advisory came early the next morning. Residents of