A Time of Needed Help

We are experiencing an era of severe weather patterns that alter our landscapes and lifestyles; we seem to know this. Each season brings it own chaotic climatatic outcomes to any regions of our country. Mainstream news coverage now regularly includes statistics of hurricanes, tornados, wind storms, and fires.

Each phenomena delivers elements that cause living and breathing things in the path of the disaster to move, climb, relocate in panic and fear. The result of being able to return and resume life and routine is becoming increasingly difficult and in some cases, impossible. Often public and private properties are wrecked, resulting in huge costs.  I ask myself, "Are these weather related events becoming more disasterous (prompting news media to use such terms as"super", "mega", "perfect") or is it that we exist closer to and even in disaster areas?" Of course, we expect that we are able to dictate how we live. That attitude may not continue to be possible. But helping one another in an aftermath may become the way to continue.

I live in a region where wildfires began and became rampent in spring of 2012 and continued into the fall.  One, appropriately named the High Park fire, burned over 87, 000 acresone, including 259 homes, along with valuable montane forested areas - crucial for recreation, wildlife,  and watershed processes. The recent estimate for the HPF is $39 million.

Since the fire, numerous land recovery and restoration volunteer events have occured. These well-orchestrated programs have attracted up to 200 volunteers depending on tasks' objectives. One term for such projects is BAER (burn area emergency response). Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (WLRV) and other nonprofit organizations swiftly colaborated with state and federal agencies to get into the back country burned areas. One mission: to do what we could to mitigate ash and debris from sliding into the Cache La Poudre River. CLP's watershed areas are significant for forest health and water safety along the Front Range.

One Friday morning, as I enjoyed a warm hearty breakfast borrito in a designated parking area with a substantial group of people I did not know, the person standing next to me stated, "I called into work today". I asumed he meant this volunteer opportunity and the learning curve meant more than perhaps sitting at a desk did - at least for today.  I nodded in approval as we waited for the transportation set up to begin.  We were heading up and into Risk Canyon. I will never forget that day...the hard work, the commaradre, the organized approach of the operation, and the rewarding sense that I had given back something, at a time of needed help.