Wednesday May 14 10:20 am
I was driving towards a friends house right off Poinsettia Ave. in Carlsbad. My plan was to help take care of their other 4 children while the eldest daughter went to an urgent doctors appointment.
A picture of smoke flashed on my phone with a text from Molly, “OMG fire broke out by my work!”
As I got closer, the sky was no longer a pristine blue, it was heavy, grey, and smoke filled. By the time I arrived a full-fledged evacuation was in order. I begin helping load as quickly as possible.
(Smoke filled the sky scary quick)
“The baby books, did you grab the baby books.”
“Oh my gosh the Christmas Ornaments…. Do you think we have time to get them down?”
“Mom, what about the bunnies, where are they going to be safe?”
Eventually, the cars were full. Ash was raining down. It was time to go. Traffic was intense but after a while I made it home.
Later that afternoon, Molly and Lindsey got let out of work and joined me. We were glued to the news live-stream, and Facebook News Feed. Tensions were high as fire after fire started around the county. Our list of items to grab if evacuated kept growing.
Thankfully the fire didn’t touch our home.
Unfortunately it ravaged friend’s apartments and homes.
During the next few days I couldn’t stop thinking about people from my community who lost everything. Optimistic comments stung “look how many houses were saved.” “Wow, God was good in this.” “It’s just stuff.” It wasn’t my home, but after walking with families through the fire recovery process in 2008 I understand, albeit not first hand, of how devastating and arduous fire loss is.
I made it a goal to meet people who lost homes. Maybe some snippet of information from 2008 would be helpful.
(Firefighters taking some residents to salvage possessions, before the unit is demolished.)
(The unit after it was demolished.)
May 22, 2014
This week has been such a whirlwind! I’ve met many people who lost their homes in the fires or suffered smoke damage while helping North Coast Calvary Chapel coordinate their fire relief efforts. If I learned one thing working for Wildfire Recovery Program in 2008, it’s that fire recovery is a long-term process!
Right now, one week almost to the moment after the Poinsettia fire started, most of us have gone back to our regular life… unfortunately those whose homes were lost or damaged don’t have that luxury. Their lives are infinitely more difficult today than they were 7 days ago.
One 55 year old man I talked with yesterday is still making do with one pair of pants, trying to wait till his next pay check to buy something…
Another single mom with out renters insurance is fighting against her landlord because the smoke damage is so severe it’s a health risk for her children…
A young couple is still bouncing from house to house, trying to figure out how to replace necessary items that smoke destroyed…
(Helping clean out smoke damaged apartments.)
Today
Through a group of representatives from a variety of churches we formed the Faith Fire Collaborative (FFC). The fire recovery work has been intense during the last six weeks. My church was incredibly generous and helped fund my Swazi trip so I have had the freedom to work on Fire Recovery. The FFC has been working to set fire survivors up with trained advocates who can walk with them through the recovery process.
It’s not going to end any time soon, but the progress has been astronomical.
Yesterday while meeting with a woman who lost her apartment she stated, “Oh, I wanted to tell you that I went to your church on Saturday night. I grew up Catholic and gave up on God when I was 15, but I realized through all this that something in my life was missing. I’m thinking it might be God.”
God unlocked her heart through the fires and because the FFC reached out to her, she was open to the local church.
I’ve been talking to so many families who are just now getting into stable housing while they rebuild or getting back into apartments. Many families are still in the process of moving and reestablishing. They still have many needs.
- A young single mom needs new mattresses this week.
- A woman needs clothing, yesterday she confessed that she has been working out in jeans because she doesn’t have anything else.
- As families move and resettle they need groceries, imagine the cost of replacing everything in your cupboards.
- A man who has been living in a homeless shelter since the fires just got back into an apartment, but now he has to figure out all of life’s essentials… again.
- A man is living in his garage, on his burnt out property, while trying to figure out if rebuilding his uninsured home is even a possibility.
If you want to help us continue to provide aid for people in the fire recovery process, donate through the “give” link on this page. Also, there are still lots of volunteer opportunities! We are even helping someone move on Saturday, use the “Contact Me” link on the left if you would like to help.
Also, gift cards are a great resource, for grocery stores, restaurants, Costco, Target, Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond, Home Depot, etc. If you have extras drop them off at North Coast Calvary Chapel, c/o Terri Franklin.
