Allen: Please consider donating for California wildfires

I’ve spent this last week haunted by desperate thoughts for those who are suffering in wake of the catastrophic and heartbreaking wildfires in the Los Angeles area. My family and I called Altadena home before we moved to Carbondale, and I’ve been mired in a fog of concern for the friends I know and the thousands I don’t whose lives have been destroyed or upended.

I also understand how far away this can feel. Even as the home where my daughter was born is reduced to ashes, even as and field texts from friends who are waiting to see what may remain of their former lives, I find myself turning to watch the light change on Sopris, to feel safe here, to be here because here is where I am.

But I can’t get loose of it for long. The history is too close, the people too dear and the reality of the following thought I’ve seen floating around too present: “The climate crisis will manifest as a series of disasters viewed through phones, with footage that gets closer and closer to where you live, until you’re the one filming it.”

I urge everyone to please do what they can to contribute to the aid of too-many-thousands of people who have suffered incredible loss in the wake of these fires. Please consider donating to the California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Recovery Fund, the American Red Cross, or the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation. If you’re like me and you’d rather donate directly to specific individuals or families, consider GoFundMe, which has set up a dedicated page where you can donate to fire victims, first responders and others through their separate fundraising accounts. Your contributions are real and essential in helping people begin to rebuild their lives from the ground up. With a sincere and aching heart I hope that your generous effort is one you never need returned.

Clay Allen

Carbondale