Burned...but Not Forever

Someone's field

View of Kamiah from up in the hills.

Burned. Scorched grass and trees. Twisted metal and indestructible odds and ends. Piles of ash. Concrete pillars and foundations. This is all that's left. This used to be a home. Somebody used to live here, do life here. And now it's gone. The firestorm took it.  

I took a drive last week through some of the affected areas. Before that, I had only seen the damage from afar, as I drove by or through town. But I wanted to see it up close, to drive through it, smell the lingering smoke. So I did. The destruction was pretty terrible. I could only imagine the fear that people must have felt as they tried to defend their homes before having to flee. Kudos to those who were able to stay and fight. Driving up a road the winds through the hills I saw the marks of the fire on both sides of the road. I cannot imagine trying to drive up or down while the fire was burning. 

People are already starting to clean up and move forward. I see trucks with trailers drive through town, hauling scorched metal and scrap to the dump. Some people are already making plans to log the remaining trees on their property before they truly die off. The Life Center still opens 5 days a week for people who need donated items. People still come to volunteer to work there. But moving on from this is going to take quite a long time. 

I hear stories at work. People come in all the time and share what it was like to watch from town, or what they lost, or how they escaped. This event will be seared into people's memories for my lifetime and probably beyond. People will remember how they stood open mouthed on Main Street in Kamiah and watched the flames leap across the hills like they had a life of their own. How they didn't know if people were still in the homes they could see burning. People will remember how Kooskia was full of trucks, RV's, and families that night, sitting in the grocery store parking lot and the city park, not sure where to go or what to do; knowing that their home could be burning at that moment. They will remember how the volunteer firefighters and ranchers worked for almost a week straight (if not more) to stop the flames. They will remember the miraculous way the fire simply went around homes and treasured items or animals. They will remember how people came from Lewiston, Moscow, and beyond with livestock trailers and semi-trucks full of donated food, clothing, and house items. 

This won't grow back in our lifetime. Yes, we have been burned, scorched, wounded in many ways. But not forever. People will rebuild or move. Businesses will recover. People will process, learn from and move past the pain. It will grow back. 

But not on our own. 

The only way that we can truly recover from this disaster and move forward with hope and life, is to put our trust in God. If we turn to the God who created this world in the first place, trust in His unfailing mercy and  lean upon His indestructible love, we can have life. We will look at the events of this summer and know there was a purpose. We can have hope that good things will (and already have) come out of this. We will be purified and made holy, like Jesus. We will have our eyes opened and turn outward, away from ourselves. We will see the community, the family, that God has blessed us with and given us to encourage and grow with. We will see God. 
 

(I do not write this to move you emotionally or plead for help. These are just some observations and thoughts that have been in my mind for the past few weeks. I want people to be aware of what happened here, and how God is moving. He is mighty and He works miracles.) 

If you would like to help those who face rebuilding their home, go to www.kamiahfirerelief.org
The local credit union has set up this fund and will match it up to $100,000. You can send a check or give online through PayPal. There is also a slideshow at the bottom of the page with photos of the fires. The local county agencies are meeting to decide how best to equitably and resourcefully use these funds for local homeowners; so you can be sure it will be put to proper and intended use. 

 Also, if you wish to donate more specifically, you can donate to this GoFundMe site for our dear friends, the Maxners. They lost their home and will be looking to rebuild soon. 
 http://www.gofundme.com/px28hf3k