Tornado Alley (PROG)

[DesertDrifter]

Helping others? You should see what is going on in Chico for the people who lived in the 6700 houses that burned in the ridge above it that is called Paradise. That is a LOT of people. Many have relatives and friends to stay with temporarily but for those who have no where to go, the tent cities are enormous. And many of them have no idea if their house burned or not, they have not been allowed back, so you can imagine the anxiety level.

My kids have been helping with various relief efforts for a week. I am going down Saturday to help.

You are retired; no one who wants to help is turned away... you could test your theories of what 20000 refugees is like. It is happening right now. You are the one most vocal about helping others... here is your chance.

One woman, who was up to my place a couple weeks ago with her family for a visit, had most of her relatives wiped out, as they were multi-generation Paradise people. Her mother, her grandmother, two uncles, two aunts, all saw photos of their neighborhoods, and all lost everything as they were burned flat. They are all grateful just for having escaped with their lives. There was not even time to grab things... the fire everyone knew would come some day because of the topography of the town, came... at 40 mph. Some tried to stay and fight, a few made it. Many panicked and didn't understand to drive to an open area as the fire passed, went for it, and got barbecued.

Usually after a fire, there are a lot of feature stories about people staying back to protect their homes, with all kinds of harrowing stories of defying the system and winning. This time, all they are finding of most of them are pieces of burned jaw. A lot of americans actually need help from time to time, all you have to do is look around. You cannot imagine how many of them had to buy new laptops just to reconnect... your skills would be of use.