The word strikes at our very heart. We revere and fear fire, as well we should. Living in California you learn all about Fire and its consequences.
California has always been a semi- desert state. There are records of large wildfires every year, going all the way back in written history and beyond. The Sequoia tree has adapted after thousands and thousand of years to propagate itself by the use of wildfire.The indigenous tribes of California learned how to adapt to fire and how to use fire to hunt and trap game.
Since Americans came into the State in 1849 hunting for gold, they began building Gold Rush camps in mountains where the gold veins run through, usually in the thick of the forests. Historically many, if not all, of those towns have been devastated by fire. Tenacious as humans are, they were often rebuilt upon the ashes of the destroyed towns.
Fifty years ago when I was just a baby, wildfire was not as much as a threat as it had been.
Forests were logged. Grasslands were planted with crops and watered regularly. I do not remember a really bad fire until about 1974, when my area was going through one of its regular 7 year droughts. The Mountain behind our home, Mt. Diablo caught fire and burned for three days. In retrospect it doesn't even seem very significant.
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| Summit of Mt Diablo |
But of course, things change.
California is in the grip of Environmentalists and Democrats. The forests are no longer managed; the environmentalist would rather it burn than be logged or even partially cleared. The water from the rivers in the North is re routed from the mountains to the deserts of Southern, arid California. People have built homes upon homes and everyone wants a green lawn and more and more electricity. The planet is shifting its weather patterns - as it has done forever and a day- and now we have stronger winds, denser housing, less fear and bigger and bigger Wild land fires.
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| California Foothills |
I live just a short 50 miles to the South of what is the biggest California Wildfire to date- The Camp Fire Blaze. It has just destroyed the towns of Paradise, Magalia, Concow and it is bearing down on Chico and Oroville. So far 23 lives have been lost, 1500 people are injured, 102, 000 acres is burning and it is only 5 % contained. The winds are up, and even after 4 days the fire rages. My house is enveloped in smoke,so much so that I cannot see the sun. Everything has a smoky hue. The birds are confused, roosting early and flying in large circles.
There is also a huge fire in Southern California, The Woolsey Fire, creating loss of life and property.
Animals left behind are being found and rescued. The local FB boards are full of pictures of people looking for lost loved ones, pets and livestock. It is truly a disaster.
Last year Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, Yuba County (where I now reside), Napa County and many, many others had horrific fires that tore through thousands of acres. Those fires were caused by PG&E lines sparking in high winds. This year, PG&E have said they are going to cut power to those people living in high risk areas. Maddening! And our Governor has vetoed any bills presented to him to help manage the forests and rangelands, or help bury the electric lines in high risk areas. He prefers instead to tax the population to death ( we have the highest tax rate in the United States,at 13.3%, Hawaii is next at 11%) and spend those monies on a high speed railroad project that has stalled out completely.
So while the Powers that Be see saw back and forth about who is to blame- WE the People of California are taking the hit.
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| Dry California foothills |
What can we do for ourselves?
We have private organizations helping each other to find loved ones, livestock and pets.
We have private organizations helping to raise money for basic necessities.
We have private organizations helping to evacuate people and pets.
We have Churches and Temples feeding and housing families.
We have families housing other families on their properties.
We have individuals pitching in and helping where ever they can.
We are not relying on the Government- either local or Federal.
We are not crying in our beers- we are out in the ashes and fire helping one another.
We are not going to let this define us as humans, family or friends.
If anyone reading this would like to help I have a list of Private organizations that are helping and could use donations. Just drop me a line and I will give you the information.
And if you are of a mind to pray- Please know that we will accept those too.
