Sonoma / Napa County Fires, Northern California

If there is something positive to be said about this disaster, it's that Bay Area folks have come together in amazing ways to help evacuees. Almost all local donation sites are filled with clothes and blankets. Mobile restaurants are pairing with grocery and gourmet food stores to offer fresh healthy meals for the displaced. And near to my heart, local pet lovers are donating food, leashes, and other supplies by the truckful. There's still lots of need, of course, but I'm amazed at how generous people have been in such a short timeframe. It's reassuring.

We got a bit of rain last night in Northern CA, and this should help the firefighters get final containment on these fires.

It's going to take a long time for people to recover and rebuild. Over six thousand homes have been destroyed. I don't even know how the already crowded and overpriced housing market in the area will accommodate so many families who need to find rental housing for the next year or longer.

And there's no way to recover from the deaths. I learned the other day that someone from the Northern California dog agility community is one of the victims. I didn't know her and her husband personally, but some of my agility friends did. I can only imagine the pain he, and other survivors who lost loved ones, must be in right now.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Lynne-Powell-endured-cancer-only-to-be-caught-by-12279946.php

It's incredibly sad, and there are so many other tragedies like this playing out. A man who was one of the anti DDT activists who helped save the Peregrine falcon is another victim. And so many others, from kids to elderly couples who couldn't even get out of bed before the fire claimed them. It's unreal how fast a fire can move when it's hot and dry and windy.

The trauma from this kind of thing can last for years. It doesn't go away. The Oakland fire claimed a victim decades after it happened, when a young woman (who had been a teen at the time and been the one who found her grandmother's body) committed suicide.

I don't think there will ever be agreement about which disasters that claim lives are the worst. All are terrible in different ways, but fire is something I find especially horrifying.

Roxxsmom said:

I learned the other day that someone from the Northern California dog agility community is one of the victims. I didn't know her and her husband personally, but some of my agility friends did. I can only imagine the pain he, and other survivors who lost loved ones, must be in right now.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Lynne-Powell-endured-cancer-only-to-be-caught-by-12279946.php

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How sad. I'll have to ask my friend in Santa Rosa if she knew her. My friend is an AKC judge and very active in her local dog club, so it's quite possible she did. Luckily my friend's neighborhood was spared, as were those of her mother, brother and son, but they all live damn close to the Coffey Park neighborhood that was destroyed.

My thoughts and prayers are with all of you for safety and recovery.

Marilyn