Southern Cali fires

A few weeks ago my sister, my mom and I went to visit one of my other sisters in Running Springs, CA. She was just able to get back into her home after being evacuated for 10 days. I remember when she called us to let us know that the fires were threatening her home. I was so scared for her. My heart broke at what they must be feeling and that I couldn't be there to help. I was constantly looking on the computer for some kind of update, reading the scanner reports and driving my sister and her husband insane with phone calls. I would wake up in the middle of the night several times just to see what was happening. I know I am crazy but I couldn't help be so worried. She is my baby sister. It was crazy how quickly the fire went from 0% to 70% to 100% contained. You know though, through all that the victims of the fires had been going through the thing that made me so mad was that people were going around looting. (that's all I will mention about them and they don't even deserve that.) I knew that My sister and her husband would be taken care of and that they had all of us if anything did happen to their home. But what about all the people who had no one. My sister was finally able to get back into their home and it was fine. The fire at one point was at the end of their street. Once they were back in we came up. I have seen tragedies on TV but nothing would prepare me for this. It is so different to see it in person and I only saw a very tiny part of the damage. What I saw was heart breaking. We saw people sifting through the damage. We saw peoples belongings destroyed. Its just crazy what these people lost. Look around your homes everything you see gone. Granted they are things but can you imagine trying to start over and having to replace each one. And what about the irreplaceable items like your pictures and family videos or your grandmothers cookie jar. I can't even imagine. As you walk up the streets of lost homes there are trees with a big white "X" on it which signifies trees that are too badly burned that they must be removed. The only remains are massive fireplaces. It's kind of ironic. and yet in the midst of all of this there are small rays of hope and love. Flower pots left on what used to be the walkway to a friends home, flags left on fences by a stranger, letters of compassion, the unconditional love of a community pulling together. It was amazing to see. I was so overcome by so many different emotions. In the windows of just about every home and business that was spared there were signs thanking the firefighters for saving their homes. It was awesome to see the work of the firefighters. I didn't actually see them fighting fires but I saw where the fire destroyed one side of the road and you could just tell that the firefighters lined the street to save the homes on the other side. I would like to personally tank each and every person involved in every aspect of helping during this scary time. People put their lives on the line to help strangers, nothing is more Christlike. This video doesn't even come close to painting the real picture but at least you can see the sketch.