Unveiling the Light

It seems that the worse is over. I am surprised at how many people are still coming home after evacuating not just their homes but the Paradise area all together. They are still straggling in, picking up parked vehicles, checking out properties and sight seeing all the damage that occurred while they were gone. Some seem a bit surprised that Paradise is still here at all. I’ve received many calls from friends surprised to hear that I am still here and that the Church is still operating. They had imagined far more devastation after hearing reports on the national news.

But here we are and slowly we are returning to normal. It is slow though and it will take a bit of time for all of us to calm down. Still, it is not quite yet paradise in Paradise just yet. The smoke and ash still linger. In an area that receives nearly 100 inches of rain annually, I never thought I would miss rain storms. I do! I can’t wait for the rain. Lots of it! Deludes of it. Anything to wash away this ash, burnt leavings and the smell of destruction. I wish it would pour inches and inches for weeks on end. No such luck though. I am afraid we are in for months of hot weather and need to be on alert. The danger is far from over.

I took in an orange tabby cat refugee from the fire. He fled into an evacuated home and was locked in for five days without food and water. He is still traumatized by the experience. He spends a lot of time under the bed. He is fine in the moments when he allows me to pet him but otherwise it’s back under the bed. I think he reflects a lot of our attitudes at this time. We are just fine as long as we don’t smell smoke, hear a siren or find some other unexpected obstacle to our day. Like this cat, now named “Harley” in honor of a perhaps overreaching dream for the future, we are all a bit on edge. The suitcases are still packed … just in case. The fire is still burning out there somewhere. It’s under control but not out. We’ve relaxed before only to be surprised and nearly overwhelmed. Too many neighbors have lost everything and too many others have had too many close calls. Where is that rain? Maybe I’ll go see how Harley is under that bed.

We should however give thanks. Thanks for the firefighters who responded from all over the state, from out of state and even from out of the country to come to one of the largest fires in our history. Thanks for all the police and volunteers who ensured that all but one got out of the way of the flames, thanks to the heroes who helped neighbors save their property and all of those unselfish people who reached into their pockets to help those who suffered losses; and thanks to God for helping us to get through this as a community and helping us to preserve the beauty of Paradise. We should give thanks that it did not spread into the town proper and did not go into the worst of all areas, Magalia which would have been a true nightmare to evacuate. Paradise was hard enough.

We should also pray for the poor soul who started the first fire which now appears to be arson. May the Lord forgive him or her this great sin which caused at least one death, uprooted thousands of families, destroyed the homes of at least five families and caused millions in damage to people’s property and cost millions more as thousands of firefighters left their families and risked their lives to get the fire under control. Many of these firefighters were injured. May the culprits find a way in their life to make up for all the damage they have caused and find a way to somehow overcome this great deficit to make some kind of positive impact on the world. To do so they have a lot of work to do.

Lord, bless our community. Help us through this summer and help us to recover from these fires. Bless those who have suffered loss and guide them to full recovery. Lead those who have caused such pain to repentance and conversion and guide us to forgiveness. Help us Lord to emerge from this ashes renewed in our faith, united in our community and full of faith and love in our Lord. Thank you Lord for your presence among us and please Lord, stay with us always. We ask this Father, filled with the Spirit in the name of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Posted by Fr Steven Foppiano at 12:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week we fought off the enemy from the east. We thought we had him stopped but he divided his forces and jumped the Skyway to out flank us both to the north and south, fighting up the canyon and up Neal Road. Our people fought valiantly though. When the enemy tried an end run around by Butte College it gained some initial successes and our losses were severe as all fronts weakened but in the end our troops fought them to a standstill. Victory was ours! But as we were to find out, this is a determined enemy and the war is far from over.

The enemy is busy elsewhere in the state and we were force to par down our troops to support those efforts yet reports of continued activity in our area were steadily coming in. Ariel bombardments continued daily and the psychological and biological warfare is wearing us down. It is hard to breath, to see and to operate in this gloomy atmosphere. The sun, if seen at all, hangs like a dull pumpkin in the dark gray sky in a surreal landscape. Ashes cover everything and it smells like a chimney. It’s dangerous to even walk outside without a mask. We’ve already been under seize for a month and no end is in sight. Sidewalks are nearly empty and those few people seen outside are well covered and protected by life saving masks.

Now the enemy is striking from a new direction. It has completely circled around us and is attacking from the south and east. We have been forced to evacuate our medical facilities and one third of the city’s populace has fled its threat. The ashes are as bad as ever and we all wait to see how our troops will hold out against this latest onslaught. We have set up our defenses along a branch of the Feather River that gives us some advantage against their uncanny ability to leap wide spaces. Meanwhile, life as we know it has virtually come to a standstill. We wait for the results of the current battle.

How did we get to this point? Why did we give up our responsibility to responsibly manage our forest to environmental extremism? Why don’t we have timber roads that would allow firemen access to the fires? Why don’t we allow some cutting that would also bring about a clearing of undergrowth and debris? Why do we let a few people who live in cities dictate how we who live in rural areas manage our forests? Why do we give priority to every species except humans? Fire is nature’s way of clearing away debris or, we could put those forests to use for human consumption as God meant them to be and manage them so humans benefit and fires are not needed.

Well managed forests allow the best trees to grow, cut away weaker trees for consumption and clear away undergrowth as part of that operation. What’s more is that instead of costing the state money, the state actually makes money off the bids for the timber or for Christmas trees. If a fire breaks out, firefighters find easy access through the roads foresters have made and little fuel due to the clearing away of debris. That is the way we used to manage forests and it worked well until the limousine foresters got involved. Now we all suffer, people, forests and animals; while they sip self righteous cocktails in high rise cities. We let it happen. Who did it hurt? Let’s hope that last line of defense holds.

Posted by Fr Steven Foppiano at 07:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Almighty Father:

It has already been a long summer. We’ve had fires, smoke, pollution, evacuations, loss, death, power outages, heat, event cancellations, great discomfort and high anxiety. Then we have had more fires. Lord, help us. We ask you to show mercy upon this Ridge Community. Families have lost their homes, people have been frightened and millions of dollars have been lost. Our community has been brought to a standstill as we wait for the next crisis, the next evacuation or the next notice of loss. Our lungs are damaged, our spirits are beat up and we are tired of living in a large BBQ pit.

We ask you Lord for relief. Send us rain without lightening, cool days without wind and a quick end to the fires that burn around us. We pray Lord that you intervene on our behalf and bring about a change in the weather. We ask that you guide the hands of the fire and emergency personnel fighting these flames and protecting our community and that you reassure the thousands who have had to evacuate. We are tired Lord and we’ve had enough. As always it is your will that we bow to, so we can only implore that you demonstrate your divine mercy. Whatever you decide Father, you know that you have our love and loyalty but oh how we yearn for the Paradise of old and to be able to relax in our homes without having a suitcase by the door.

Your Son, Jesus Christ died so that we may live in freedom but He also told us to pray unceasingly for those things we want. Let this be part of that unceasing prayer. We need relief Lord. Please send your Spirit upon those who protect us from these fires to give them strength and wisdom. Send your Spirit as well Lord upon those who have suffered relocation and loss to give them courage and hope. And please Lord, send us some relief in the weather. We ask this Lord, guided by the Spirit, in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. May you bless Paradise, Magalia, and the entire Ridge community with your compassion and Mercy!

AMEN

Posted by Fr Steven Foppiano at 01:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)