How You Can Help Victims of the San Diego Wildfire

Disasters happen, but they happen to other people. People on television. People in other countries. People in New York. People in Louisiana. Thanks to network television, we get to witness the awful things that happen to other people - but we don't really believe those things could happen to us. Strange that we still tend to feel impervious, even after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina.

The unthinkable has happened in Southern California. Fires rage out of control, consuming homes and sending thousands of families to seek refuge in San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium. (Hotels and shelters are filled to capacity.) Over half a million people have been asked to evacuate, and all San Diego schools are closed. Now the Harris/Witch Fire, as the most disastrous blaze is called, has reached the La Jolla Indian Reservation. Hundreds of San Diego homes and businesses have been destroyed by the fire, and thousands of square miles of land from LA to Mexico have been scorched. One San Diego firefighter speculated that the blaze, only 8% contained despite the firemen's best efforts, could burn all the way to the sea before extinguishing.

Most of us feel awed and helpless when we see the displaced San Diego families on television. Some victims had only seven or eight minutes to evacuate their homes. Forced to choose between their lives and their belongings, many were able to grab only their children and pets before fleeing the fire. Everything else was necessarily left to burn.

We don't have to feel helpless. We should feel thankful to have the opportunity to serve and support our fellow man. The same thing could happen to any of us at any time, by way of man-made or natural disaster. Human beings, though capable of horrible atrocities, are also capable of incredible generosity. Already, tales are being told of San Diego residents opening their homes and hotels at no charge, bringing suitcases full of clothing to families who have lost everything.