For reasons that aren't clear to me, I went to see Coffey Park and Larkfield-Wikiup areas yesterday, neighborhoods in Santa Rosa that were completely destroyed by the fire. I think it was because I have been helping out a bit, running errands, doing research for someone who lost everything in the fire and thus it has been in the forefront of my mind this week. I felt like I owed something to see the destruction for myself. A silent, personal benediction of sort, I suppose.
As I said previously, it is so different than seeing the ruins on TV or in print. It is astounding that nothing is left. There are no homes or buildings "partly burned." They are either gone or still standing untouched. Blocks and blocks of gray, black and white, nothing else. Chimneys, twisted pieces of metal, cars that are practically melted. And yet, you turn your head and there is a patch of bright green grass, someone's front yard, shining like a new copper penny in the midst of all the sad, bitter ashes. Down two blocks is a white picket fence, still there, not even scorched, a mocking sentry to a house that no longer needs guarding.
Yes, cost of the fire is huge, the personal loss to thousands is impossible to put a price on and the recovery will take years. Seeing just a small scope of the ruins, that vision will stay with me for more than just years.
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