Home to ashes
Photo courtesy of Reuters
California wildfires have scorched more than 20,000 acres since Thursday night in foothills north of Los Angeles, in Orange County canyons to the south-east, and in Montecito near Santa Barbara, to the north. An estimated 1,000 homes, from mansions to mobile homes, were destroyed. Many Californians are going home to ashes.
Ashes, their irrevocabilty is so final. There's no putting something back together or repairing it once it's been rendered to ash. Boards and nails, glue and tape seem insulting to the solemnity of ashes. The finality of ashes is like a closed door, scarred and warped and burnt. But finality is only one side of a door which can also open on new beginnings. Many of these homeowners plan on rebuilding, raising their homes, Phoenix-like, from the ashes:
DEVASTATING SCENES
Many people returned to devastating scenes of homes reduced to ashes in streets where neighboring houses were unscathed.
Fowler said she grabbed her two dogs, a turtle and a few pictures before fleeing with her family when the roof caught fire. "You could feel the heat and you saw little ember pieces flying by and we just said we've got to go. I kept looking around, thinking I'll miss you house," she said on Sunday.
Like many victims, Fowler vowed to rebuild. That sentiment was echoed by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa who told journalists on Sunday; "We are going to rebuild, make no mistake about that."
In the foothills north of Los Angeles, where some 500 homes were burned down in a Sylmar mobile home park, firefighters presented a tattered U.S. flag to park manager Jinny Harmon as residents made homeless cried and applauded.
"It represents that we will survive, that we will be coming back," Harmon said.
Hi Annette,
Thanks for letting me know about your blog...looks great!
Keep up the good poetry !!
Nancy Mercado
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Thanks for reading and commenting, Nancy!
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California Burning
Cali is burning
It's a mode of operation
The el-natural
It's only the immigrants
That can't accept it
As a native I know better
Then to build my house
On firewood and tinder
But to those dollar chasers
From New Jersey and middle America
That think they can contain Mother Nature
Well you know the old adage you can't fool that bitch
She slaps down a hard ruler
But a fool will try anything
In ignorance of the momentum
Trying to establish the façade of social stature
California is burning
The Santa Ana's bring the wind
Spread the flame
It's been like this since before the Spanish
Started killing Indians
It ain't gonna stop
Just cause you build your Ponderosa
On some hillside
You're a fuckin' idiot
Looking for sympathy
You should be arrested and sent to prison
For putting your pet in the path of harm's way
Cali is burning
It's been that way since well
Since I can remember
And as a native
I am smart enough to know
You can't fool Mother Nature
You can only fool yourself with your own stupidity
Thinking you can control something like the Cali Dream
Evidently you don't know California
You ain't a child of these hills
Now we have to pay for your lack of common sense
You stupid rich mother fucker burning up more dollars
Exacting sympathy from the federal government
This is not a disaster
It's just famous mother fuckers being stupid
Thinking they can tame California
But as a native I will shed a little wisdom
Don't build here next year
I will try and school you
Learn the lesson
Respect where you plant your fuckin' feet
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