My husband is currently volunteering with other architects and engineers in Paradise, CA. They have to assess and catalog every structure in a city where 90% of the buildings are gone. Yet even the places burned to the ground have to be examined. We missed our Thanksgiving plans with his family because he feels that it is important to use his skills for the greater good when he can. I agree. This was not a quick, impulsive decision. He took the certification course a year ago, thinking that he’d probably have to use it after an earthquake around here. When the state contacted him about volunteering, he hesitated, but only for an instant. Then we had to prepare by outfitting him with steel-toed boots, a reflective vest, a whistle, and other emergency accoutrements. He had a hardhat, flashlight, and most of the required equipment, but we had only two days to find what he needed. Thank goodness for our local sporting goods store and Home Depot! He left after dinner Thanksgiving night, taking my daypack because it’s smaller than his.
The volunteers are sleeping on cots in an old CHP building. They’re working from 7am to 5pm in pouring rain, and they’re encountering incredible devastation–some they can help with and some they can’t. Handsome husband met a little calico cat waiting in front of her miraculously spared home. He contacted someone to bring her some warm, dry bedding and dry food. He also saw a burned and limping deer that he could do nothing for. Then he continued to catalog properties or piles of ashes that used to be something more.
My husband is lucky that he gets to come home in a few days to an intact house with functioning utilities, good food, and healthy pets. And, oh yeah, me. The people of Paradise are still wondering what to do next.
The Redding newspaper had these giving opportunities listed a week or so ago. It probably hasn’t changed much. Help if you can. In the meantime, enjoy and appreciate your families, homes, and comforts.