Forged By Fire
Disaster shapes us:
We are stronger.
Your voices are proof

Blessing in Disguise

I was sifting through the endless piles of donated shoes, searching for a pair of slippers for my grandmother at the Helping Hands donation center when I got the call: It was official, we had lost everything.
The Valley Fire had taken my grandparents’ brand new home as well as my parents almost completed home. We were two days away from finally moving out of the motorhome and into our dream home before the fire violently stole my family’s future dreams and treasured past.
Until that very moment I had still retained a shred of hope that the firefighters had managed to defend our homes against the monstrous fire, so with the final confirmation I collapsed in shock and tears.

The outpouring of love and support from this community has convinced us to stay and try to rebuild. ...Although we may not have a house, this is our home.

Within seconds I was surrounded by an entourage of angels, volunteers who had been donating endless hours of their time to aid the constant stream of fire victims and evacuees. They sat with me amidst the piles of shoes, hugged me, cried with me, and brought me a box of tissues to dab away the mascara that was streaming down my cheeks.
Before I headed home that afternoon to be with my family they packed my car full of treats: clothes for me, my parents and my grandparents, food, toiletries, and a teddy bear for my grandmother. Thus began the astonishing support from the Durango community that has yet to cease four weeks after the fire.
On May 4 my family packed up our belongings in Los Angeles and made the trek out to Durango, fulfilling a dream that was nine years in the making. We had fallen in love with Durango after our first trip out here in 1993 and were counting down the days before we could leave the enormous city of Los Angeles and escape to the friendly and welcoming town of Durango.
My parents and grandparents were looking forward to spending the rest of their lives in this amazing town, but two months after the move we lost everything to the fire.
The thought of facing this battle with most of our friends and family hundreds of miles away was overwhelming, but we’ve discovered that we are not alone in Durango. The outpouring of love and support from this community has convinced us to stay and try to rebuild. No matter how difficult and arduous the rebuilding process may be we will never leave this town. Although we may not have a house, this is our home.
Durango is the best place to have a crisis; we would not have been able to put ourselves back together if it was not for this community. I will try my best to thank you all without gushing on as if I have just won an academy award, although that is truly how I feel: incredibly lucky.
To all of the amazing men and women at Helping Hands, you are all lifesavers. Your love and support has meant the world to my family and me, and it brings tears to my eyes when I think of all that you have done for us. And with that, thanks to all of you who donated your love and belongings to the Helping Hands for all of us who were “victims” of the fire. Because of you, we are no longer victims, we are survivors.
Thank you to the anonymous woman from the San Juan Quilting Guild who donated her beautiful quilts to the families who lost everything. Your quilt has become part of our family, a treasure that I will pass on to the future generations. Thank you to the little boy who donated his very favorite teddy bear. My 85-year-old grandmother falls asleep with it in her arms every night. I am bound to forget the endless people who have come to our rescue, just know that you are truly responsible for the clothes on our backs, the food in our tummies and the smiles on our faces.
The feelings of hope and relief that we have felt in the past four weeks resemble the joy we felt upon discovering a few treasures amongst the rubble; from the ashes of this tragedy we have discovered the compassion and generosity of this astounding community.
To the people of Durango, we thank you for taking us under your wing, for welcoming us into your family.

- Jenn, Bob, Tricia, Chuck & Helene Blair