As much as Montanans roll their eyes for what passes for normalcy in California, we can't forget that in tragic moments like this, we need to come together as Americans. I am sure many of you, who have lived through the big Montana fires, have been as stunned as the Scoop by the magnitude of the inferno consuming parts of southern California.The figures are staggering: 500,000 people evacuated from 350,000 homes; 1,250 homes destroyed; another 68,000 immediately threatened; 65 mph winds moving fires up to a mile in a matter of minutes; 300,000 acres burned in a short three-day period.
It is by the grace of god that only two people have died.
Today I heard a story about a CNN reporter, who just yesterday afternoon was covering the fires about 15 miles from his San Diego residence. He returned home late last night to tell his family of the heart-wrenching stories about hundreds of families losing their homes. Less than twenty-four hours later, his family was evacuated and his house burned to the ground, as he watched and reported from street outside.Soon enough the wild fires will give way to the political ones.
We'll question why so many people live in such a small area, and why they build their homes over oceans and cliffs and each other. Elected officials will point fingers at who is to blame, especially if anyone was more than two seconds to late to the scene of the fire. The government will undoubtly send in aid, probably with the same well-intended yet wasteful results as the Katrina clean-up. The global warming movement will take a break from their fire-line cheerleading just long enough to pin the blame on man-made CO2. A Hollywood celebrity will say something so mind-boggling stupid that some of us will wish the fire was still burning in Malibu.
Regardless of our political proclivities, most of us will end up thinking equally unproductive thoughts. But the real truth is that some people will never recover their homes or their loved ones.The political aftermath of these events never brings out the best in people. Given this, let's try to set aside the political analysis for now...at least until we can take care of those most affected.
Let's also remember to reach out with our hearts and our hands...and pray that tomorrow brings more moisture and less winds.
The Red Cross Southern California Wildfire Response WebsiteTHE WILDFIRES OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA - Fall 2007
THE FOREST FIRES OF WESTERN MONTANA - Summer 2003
6 comments:
Not everyone who lives in Malibu is a Hollywood celebrity. I built a house there on a ridge line overlooking the ocean in 1974, and I was anything but wealthy. I have to admit, once I built the house, only the wealthy could afford the added value that I had created, so I had to sell the house by the time 1980 came around. Nonetheless, I don't hold any grudges against wealthy people or Hollywood celebrities and sure could not cheer if their houses burned to the ground. People live where they live for a variety of reasons.
The ongoing fires in Southern California are overwhelming. I saw a news headline earlier that a million people had been evacuated. I didn't read the whole article, so maybe, as often is the case, the headline and the story didn't match. Even a half million is a lot of people to be evacuated from their homes.
I hope nobody says something like the chickens coming home to roost, or anything like that. As you point out, Scoop, it can happen to any of us. Anyone who would take pleasure in anything like what is going on in Southern California right now would be a sorry soul indeed.
Whether it involves a poor person in New Orleans or a wealthy person on a Malibu ridge, tragedy is tragedy. Sure, the wealthy will be able to rebuild, but it's not about money, it's about the value that people place in their homes and their families, no matter how big or small, rich or poor they are. That value is not monetary.
Lets see the insurance industry try to weasel their way out of covering fire the way they did with the hurricanes on the gulf.
Bob - Given we are a people marked by fire, I think Montanans know that a tragedy like this can happen to anybody (and in our case, regardless of the size of the cleared barrier around your house.)
I also know that it is human nature to respond to a tragedy by looking for a cause, and that this often leads to the politicization of the tragedy.
My post is an attempt to have people move beyond this, or if they can't, wait until we are able to care for those that a affected.
Often, the political firestorm adds to the damage done by nature, and I think that is an unfortunate and often unintended result.
The news reports are all over the board. The Reuters story that listed 1,250 homes I can no longer find. Another story said 1,000 earlier tonight, but yet another a few minutes ago said 600. (Ever wonder were news sources get these numbers?)
I also saw the story about one million people being evacuated, so my number may be a little low.
Like so much breaking news, we'll have to wait before we understand the full impact of this disaster.
Regardless, it looks significant.
I heard 750,000 evacuated. And last night I thought that any time the MSM will develop some sort of Katrina-type "narrative" about whose fault it is, FEMA not up to snuff, Bush cares more/less because of blah blah and it'll get all politicized.
We grew up there watching those fires on TV so none of this is really new. Just a lot more houses in the way now.
Scoop, you are as well spoken as you are right.
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