Morford: Fire of devastation, rain of compassion

Mark Morford Updated 5:23 pm, Thursday, October 12, 2017



The outpouring is, as always, sort of astonishing.

Even as nearly two dozen brutal, wind-whipped fires continue, as of this writing, to ravage NorCal’s stunning Wine Country, to the tune of tens of thousands of acres burned, unimaginable loss and indescribable devastation — all told, the most destructive inferno of its kind in California history — amidst it all, something sort of magical is occurring.

People rally. People offer support. By which I mean, armies of people, massive outpourings of support and kindness and help of every shape imaginable; communities, individuals, local governments, the National Guard, online fundraising campaigns supporting suddenly out-of-work laborers, hotel staffs, needful families; local charities, urban businesses, endless donations of food and clothing, money and refuge, love and support both big and small, personal and financial, emotional and psychological and everything in between, from places you expect, but many you don't.

The Sonoma County Fairgrounds, an enormous swath of land that’s become a small, functioning city/evacuation center unto itself, is the site of a rather staggering scene, comprising medical care, meal areas to serve hundreds, huge tents full of well-kept cots, a rest area for exhausted firefighters, play areas for children, for nursing mothers, the elderly, support for farm animals both large and small, you name it.

Can you guess the mood? Not bleak and miserable. Not fatalistic and isolated, not fearful and dejected.

It’s positive. Helpful. Kind. Endlessly kind and generous, even with displaced families crammed together in cots, even with all the commiseration and sadness, even with so many thousands having no idea if their homes still stand or where they might go next. There is laughter, there is sharing, there is the unending flow of gratitude to be alive and safe, connected, even now and perhaps more than ever, to the community.

http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/article/Morford-Fires-of-devastation-meet-fires-of-12273941.php?utm_source=email&utm_content=newsletter&utm_campaign=sfg_notesanderrata