Jamie Holmes, M.Div.
My husband and I live in Chico which is twelve miles from what's left of Paradise, California, my hometown. As you've heard, 95% of Paradise burned down on November 8, 2018 in the Camp Fire - causing 83 known deaths. Ralph and I housed three evacuees and their pets over five weeks but I was also involved as a volunteer lay chaplain at Chico's hospital. The day of the inferno, I did my best to minister to doctors and nurses from the Paradise hospital who had been gridlocked between walls of flames as they evacuated patients in their cars and anguished over colleagues they thought were trapped in the burning hospital. (They made it out safely; check it out on "60 Minutes.") Now my involvement is with patients with respiratory and cardiac conditions resulting from particulate matter that our masks couldn't filter out. Many of them are homeless now with scarce housing within 100 miles while landlords sell and rent at inflated prices.
The aftermath of the fire has required a lot of help and stamina from people and organizations. It will be years before the trauma wanes and the town is re-established in some form. Seeing my former childhood home in ashes and twisted metal was a personal sadness even though it had been sold years ago. Seeing Paradise friends move away for lack of jobs, housing, schools, neighborhoods and their community has been sadder.
As someone put it, "The Camp Fire was Paradise's 9/11." Nonetheless, the continuous generosity and selflessness of donors, volunteers, and agencies has boosted our spirits as we see how strangers and friends take care of each other. The offerings range from volunteers who sift through your ashes to find valuables that didn't melt (ceramic nativity scenes survived!), to pop-up distribution centers with everything from quilts to shoes to shovels to mattresses. There's plenty to be thankful for and keep praying for. Yeah, there's a lot more that could be written about in this year's Alumni Notes but right now, this is "what's on top" around here.
Best regards to all of you, dear Divvies!