I apologize for the lateness of this diary. Fortunately, Spirit keeps its own time.
If you've been following reports of Colorado's Waldo Canyon fire, you know that our beloved Nurse Kelley and her two cats have been swept up in the fallout. You probably also know that hundreds of other folks have been displaced, along with their animals. And if you've read weatherdude's important diary from earlier today, you now know that Kelley and her fellow evacuees in Woodland Park have been abandoned by the Red Cross to fend for themselves as best they can.
It gets worse.
I've spoken with Kelley at some length. She says that she's okay right now, but plenty of people there are not. They were told to pack for 72 hours and take only what they absolutely needed; it's now been six days, and the only word on the highway closure is that it's "closed indefinitely." Many of the people at the hotel where she's staying are elders; some have severe health problems. Some have no transportation, no credit cards, and precious little (if any) cash left. Some have moved out, because they cannot pay the hotel bills, and are "camping out" on the grounds and surrounding land. Camping out, mind you, without gear. With hungry and thirsty family members and pets.
The temperatures where we are, not too terribly far south and at 7,500 feet, are getting up to 95 and 96 degrees every day right now. The nights are dropping to 50. We're getting occasional sparse showers plenty of wind and dust. I imagine weather conditions are not much different in Woodland Park these days - except, of course, for the omnipresent smoke and ash that makes it difficult for folks with severe health issues to breathe.
But we're indoors, with shelter - and clean clothing, and food, and water, and the ability to take a shower. Our animals are fed and housed. We don't have the added stress of wondering whether our home will still be standing in a few days, or whether we're going to be able to stay alive until then.
Right now, Kelley and her compatriots need blessings. A lot of them. So let's do what we can to provide the folks there with an infusion of Spirit.
If you pray, please pray. If you meditate, try that. If your tradition involves "sending" good thoughts, energy, blessings, light, positive intent, healing vibes, or anything similar, please focus your efforts on Kelley and those sharing her current situation, including their non-human family members.
And if you can spare a little extra for the wild creatures whose habitats are being destroyed, please do that, too.
I posted this in Sara R's beautiful diary last night as my wish for Kelley:
A gentle, steady rain to quench the flames and soothe the land. Full and pregnant clouds to cleanse the air. And a full spectrum of light to shine the way to lead everyone back home safely.
As I've said in so many disaster diaries, these folks are our sisters, our brothers, our parents, our children. They are all our relations, and we are their keepers. Circumstances may currently bar us from offering tangible aid (although that, too, may change), but this we can do, and do now.
Please join me.