December 2018
by Seth Halpern/Editor My heart aches and I’m sure that yours does too. The tragedy of the Camp Fire is almost surreal. Haven’t we been here before? Our Nor Cal region seems to be continually ravaged by fire. Two years ago, I wrote the cover story about the Cascade Fire which displaced thousands of our neighbors in the Yuba foothills. I wrote about John Gaiser who just now moved back into his Loma Rica home. Last year, the Carr Fire devastated the Redding/ Shasta area and beyond. But the Camp Fire, well that is on another level. I’m not in the business of comparing tragedies, but oh my. To think that we will never think of the fun, warm, smores-making “campfire” in the same way again. The
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statistics bear this out during the constant television news reports, newspaper articles, and Facebook newsfeeds. The MOST DESTRUCTIVE fire in California history! We’ve heard it again and again. As of this writing- 84 lives lost with 600+ people missing, 18,733 structures have been reported destroyed in the blaze, including 13,672 single-family homes., more than 150 thousand acres burned, upwards of 200,000 people evacuated. Add to those numbers, the thousands of firefighters and other first responders coming to help from most of the western half of the nation. What I don’t like about statistics is that the cold, raw numbers represent people. People who died leaving loved
Assemblyman James Gallagher
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ones to grieve. Each of the more than 1,000 homes was more than a place to live but the necessary items within it. Some people say “It’s only stuff”, which while that is technically true, it is “someone’s stuff” But there are many things that are not just “stuff” but memories of their lives. Pictures, videos, rings, gifts, mementos from loved ones, etc, Many are not “replaceable”. Don’t forget that many who escaped with their lives lost their business or other means of living. One family from my church had a business in Paradise. Interestingly, their business survived; unfortunately, their customers didn’t. Since most of the town was destroyed, so was their business. Paradise was a favorite day trip of
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mine. I enjoyed the antique shops, restaurants, and overall charm of the town and its people. I restrained myself from titling this article “Paradise Lost” since it was a cliché that would be used by many news outlets. Instead, I chose, “Beauty from Ashes”. I wanted to focus on the astounding outpouring of love and support from neighboring communities including our own community of Yuba -Sutter. My Facebook newsfeed was filled with posts responding calls to help, support, volunteer, give and everything else they could do. Several shelters were setup as well as churches offering their space for evacuees. Friends, ministry leaders and others led outreach efforts. Countless
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