Posts Tagged ‘fire’

Disasterous Fires, but Nothing Like Katrina

Thursday, October 25th, 2007

I know I mentioned volunteering to help with the California wildfires, possibly with my friend Cat. I wanted to give you all an update on that. I’ve rolled it over and over in my head and weighed the options, and at this point, I have decided that it would not be a good idea for me to go any closer to the fires than I already am. In lieu of volunteering, I have made monetary donations to organizations who are helping out, specifically Noah’s Wish and the Red Cross.

My decision to not go is for many reasons, but the two that come to the forefront are my compromised pulmonary health because of the high amount of particulates in the air (via smoke) and the fact that there are plenty of capable volunteers, who are officially trained for rescue work, already helping out in San Diego, at least for now.

I will reassess whether or not to volunteer for the fire relief efforts when we return from Thailand and will probably help with the clean-up efforts when a lot of the fires have died down and the smoke has lessened. I know from experience that disaster areas need help with clean-up just as much as when the initial frenzy begins.

On another note, some people are comparing this to post-Katrina New Orleans. I have to strongly disagree with that. I was there, in Louisiana, for a long time after the initial influx of volunteers left and I must say that these fires and what happened post-Hurricane Katrina are vastly different. Sure, they are both horrific natural disasters, but that is where the similarities end. In fact, I would venture to say they are on complete opposite ends of the disaster spectrum. (more…)

Southern California Fires

Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007

I’ve had several people, including friends and family, contact me in concern over the Southern California fires. Thankfully, Kevin and I, and both of our families are unaffected. We are all doing well. 🙂

For us, the fires are about 43 miles north of us (1 hour drive), in Malibu, and about 106 miles south of us (2 hour drive), in San Diego. Sure, we can smell the smoke in the air because of the blustery winds, but that is the extent of what we are experiencing.

I’ve been thinking, however, that I can’t just sit here on my duff and watch as people and animals need help. As stated above, San Diego is only 2 hours away. I can even go for an evening and help out. My friend Cat and I have been throwing the idea around of volunteering down there over the last hour or so. If I go down there, it won’t be for very long because I have work and appointments to tie up loose ends before our trip that I have to keep.

As usual, though, I want to jump in, but considering that I am still dealing with somewhat severe health issues (toxins in my lungs, liver and blood) from the post-Hurricane Katrina animal rescue work I did New Orleans, I am leery of making things worse with the possibility of inhaling smoke.

Of course, I will keep you updated if we do go volunteer and if anything changes.