Fire on the Mountain

 

Over this past TWO MONTHS our beautiful Paradise has been literally surrounded by fire and smoke.

 

It started with the "Humboldt Fire" in lower Paradise (we call that area the Banana Belt because of its altitude (around 1200 feet and down) which is 100% contained now, but not before it took many homes and burnt all the way down the Skyway, around Tuscan Ridge Golf Course. Many families were left without their houses and property and barely escaped with their lives. Fortunately, no lives were lost.

Next, various counties and locations throughout Northern California were hit by a lightning event on Saturday, June 21. Over 3,200 lightning strikes ignited 602 fires throughout Northern California. A total of over 5,000 lightning strikes was recorded. The fire that concerned Paradise grew enormously, and sits right on our eastern boundries. That fire is projected to be fully contained on July 24th, and is still a concern of Cal-Fire at this writing. The smoke has lessened a great deal, and we have actually seen the stars at night for the last few days.

 

 

Below are some pictures and video of the fires tha have threatened our community.

 

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Humboldt Fire June 11 - 16, 2008	Below, shows some of the aftermath of the Humboldt Fire, from Butte Community College campus. The campus is about 8 miles below Paradise, on Clark Road. It was used as primary staging for much of this fire fighting effort.	Humboldt Fire Pics - Click on pic for larger image.
		Chopper going in for a drop on the Humboldt Fire
		Humboldt Fire plume from down in the valley.
		DC-10 tanker brought specially to fight this. It just killed it, when it was able to finally fly in.
		A Cal-Fire pic of the Humboldt Fire boundries
		Many homes were burned to the ground in lower Paradise, and many families displaced.
		Humboldt Fire plume from the Skyway in Paradise, above the fire.
		Camp Fire Pics - Click for larger shot
Camp Fire (BTU Complex) June 21st to Present	Below is report from KCRA TV, Channel 3 out of Sacramento on July 10th. This threat is now all but eliminated, but there are still a few large fires as part of this same complex up west of of Redding, in the Trinity National Forest and also north of Lassen Park.   Another video from July 14th. I am so glad people post this to YouTube. Again, most of this threat has diminished considerably.	Satellite shot
		Topo map of Camp Fire from the Cal-Fire site.
		Map of the Camp Fire boundries. I tried to show where the church is on the map.
		Concow is a small communitye east of Paradise on the other side of the Feather River. They were hardest hit. 50 homes burned.
		Feather River Canyon on fire as seen from Magalia
		Picture of Paradise at Mid-Day during the worst of it.

 

 

So, through the fires and the smoke, our Center shines. It's prayer in action. Below is a copy of a story run on June 18th in the local papers during the Humboldt fire.

 

Community comes together in aftermath of fire
By Jennifer Barker
Article Launched: 06/18/2008 04:59:22 PM PDT

Paradise residents are now coming together to help those families who lost their homes in the Humboldt Fire.

Teachers and staff at Paradise Elementary School gathered together to host a clothing closet and households items drive for those families who lost their home in the fire, teacher Jan Reale said.  Reale said families who lost their homes are now camping on their property where their house once stood. The school set up the drive in the cafeteria and is accepting anything the families in need could use right away. Reale suggested donations of clothing, toiletries, bedding or towels.

On Monday the school already had boxes of donations and fire victims arrived in the morning. Reale said they've received a quick response from residents because word travels fast when the message is good.  "We are in love with our students and our community. It's our way of showing that," she said.

The donation center is open from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. this week until the need runs out. For more information call 872-6415. Paradise Elementary School is located at 588 Pearson Road.

The Paradise Center for Spiritual Awareness is also accepting donations for fire victims. Board of Trustees Treasurer Rebecca Gaynor said they are looking for donations of clothing and toys for children.  "Toys like a stuffed animals, something (the children) can hold on to," she said. "This will be so at least they have clean clothes."  The clothing and toy drive will be Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the church parking lot, 789 Bille Road. At this time residents can also drop off household items for the victims. After the church has gathered household items they will hold another drive, Gaynor said. Residents can donate clothes, toys and household items tomorrow and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and during the drive on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ……..."Let's hope that we all heal fast," Gaynor said.

 

Here's the response from Denise and Rebecca:

The outpouring from the community was incredible. We asked for abundance and it was delivered. People brought nice quality clothing, brand new toys and gently used stuffed animals, shoes, toiletries, bedding etc. It was an act of love and support for our community. It was slow starting Thursday...but I did a treatment Fri. morning for the receivers to come and they did.A lot of items were claimed.Sat morning Tony, Alan, Bob, Janet, Dell and I don't know who else,  brought three trucks to take all that remained over to Paradise Elementary School where they are dispersing goods to the victims.It was a hasty response to help the victims but we pulled it off and I am glad that our center is here for the entire community.

So... many thanks to all who gave. Our Center is light and a great force of energy. I told a lot of people dropping things off to join us on Sundays...many seemed like they really will.