After reading todays paper I can not help but wonder....
Why can people not see life through another's eyes?
Why can people not walk in another's shoes before passing judgment?
For that matter, why do people pass judgment on others when they themselves must screw up once in awhile?
The man sharpening that shovel to break ground to build his son and soon to be daughter in law, a recreational cabin, is already feeling the guilt in him self.
Does he deserve to be punished for what was going to be a good deed but went bad?
Can anyone of us say what we would have done in his shoes?
I cant, maybe that fire went so fast he had no time to go for water and or an extinguisher?
Who would have thought a shovel spark would have started a fire that size?
Knowing the way a small town runs...I will guess that him and his family will move out of Ninilchick, people will not forgive them even though there is nothing to forgive...
The Caribou Hills fire was destined to start...we have feared it and talked about it for the past 6 summers...
Knowing those trees would go up in a blaze...
were the uninsured cabin owners out there building fire blocks on their property last summer? Funny how when one procrastinated preventive measures and something goes bad...they blame anyone but them selves.
I was taught, or figured out, at an early age that if I wear pants, when I fall off my bike my knees wont get skinned. This taught me to plan ahead and look for all possibilities. If I were the owner of any of the land out on the Kenai peninsula tundra I would have either purchased land that had a natural fire/flood block...or...knowing the forests were dead and dying...I would have spent part of each "recreational trip" clearing those trees and grass so when the fire began (It was inevitable to happen) my property would have had some kind of help in surviving.
With family and friends owning property and cabins in the area...I saw first hand the fears of loss.
I saw devastation, I felt the pain of the unknowing...
What I also saw...
A group of people with a common need...to save their vacation spots...
I saw a group of people who helped each other...pulled together when the going was bad.
I saw compassion for others and their property...now I am sure a lot had to do with the fact that if you saved the cabin in front of you, you had a better chance of saving your own...but this fire still brought back a small sense of community...something Homer used to have and has lost through the years.
What I would like to see now that the fears are subsiding and reality is setting in...
That same group of people helping the ones who lost in the fire...rebuild.
A very large number of families were effected by this blaze...blaming someone will not make it go away...and "suing them" will not get the money needed to replace material possessions.
This man and his family can not now and probably never would be able to pay for the damages...nor does he deserve to.
Material possessions were lost...but as far as I know...no one has lost their life. A few have been injured but the ones I have read about chose to cross a fire line to save their "toys". A choice I too would probably have chosen...but I would have understood that I was going into dangerous areas and by crossing the barricade I would be solely responsible for my own actions and injuries.
I am sure I would feel anger toward the fire starter, but that anger, if I looked for it's root would be at myself really. For allowing myself to get into the position in the first place. For not taking preventive measures. I have three fire extinguishers in a 16 foot camper...preventive measures!!
So...tell me why...it is so hard to accept our consequences?
Why do we all think we are superior to our neighbors and their needs?
And... Why would someone who owns property covered in dead spruce think their land is fire resistant?
Oh I know...the same reason someone will build their home on a large river and complain when it floods!
