Dear FML friends, You may remember that I posted something last week on preparedness for evacuation. Since then, my neighborhood has gone up in flames and my family has had to live with friends in another town. I'm sure most of you have seen photos of the ruins. However, we (humans, dogs, cat, rats, and ferrets) are ok, in spite of this horrifying forest fire. It is still burning, and is up to about 50,000 acres. The mountains surrounding Los Alamos are now blackened and lifeless. But no towns are threatened now, and Los Alamos is working hard to let us go home. On Wednesday of last week, I was at lunch at the deli with some coworkers. (It's a small town--just one deli.) The deli owner popped his head out the door and told me that our neighborhood was being evacuated and to get home quick. So I did. Gathered up the ferrets, the dogs, the rats, the duffel bag, and stuffed everyone in the truck. The cat ran off. And the sky was brown and orange. The police finally told me to leave, so I had to go without the cat. (Heartache and worry. But he is also ok, although I hate to think of how afraid he must have been. Our house was in the middle of the inferno.) Amazingly, our house survived. It looks untouched. Ours is the only house left on my side of the street. The arroyo (dry creek) on the other side is a ruin. The house behind me and across the street are also ok, so I believe the firefighters must have made a stand there. Blessings on them! (This fire melted the aluminum on cars on my street and moved at over 100 mph. They were incredibly brave.) The area where I live looks like Beiruit. Or Dresden, or Mars. The county is fencing off the ruins and trying to sweep up all the asbestos. (These old houses are full of asbestos--countertops, floor tiles, furnaces, water heater closets...) The EPA won't let us back into the area yet. They're stringing new power to my house, I've heard. So maybe my family can go home by Sunday. I recognize way too many addresses on the destroyed/damaged list. Ken, the owner of the deli, lost his house. And his mother and brother lost theirs. Karen, the owner of the cafe, lost hers. Liz's shop teacher, her friend Nicky, one of her old elementary teachers, the girl who found our lost ferret, the old lady who put up decorations for every holiday....it makes me sick at heart. Still, I have to say I'm proud of us, and actually awed by the goodness of people. The dozens of organizations working on this catastrophe are performing phenomenally in the face of all sorts of logistical problems. And the citizens are behaving with dignity and patience. People in completely unaffected areas of Los Alamos are putting up with no gas or power without whining. Tiny, very poor villages in northern NM have left themselves open to considerable danger by sending their firefighters in to help. The Santa Fe and Espanola and related animal shelters and organizations deserve a Nobel prize for all they have done to find and care for Los Alamos pets (horses, dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, birds, even turtles) even while the town was evacuated, and to reunite the animals with their families. I personally can't complain. My own situation is so much better than most of my neighbors that the inconveniences are trivial. I'd like to get back into my house, but we are also well taken care of by our friend and her landlord. (I saw my house for 15 minutes, under military escort, on Tuesday, then the EPA shut down my whole nieghborhood. I am pretty sure there's just smoke damage.) Liz and I really are ok. Silver, Blackfoot, Evie, and Hogley are with me, along with the three dogs and the rats, at a friend's house in Santa Fe. (The puppy is digging holes to China, and the landlord says it's ok.) The rest of our critters are farmed out across the state. But that's all right. They're being very well cared for. Paula Federici is spoiling Joe, Ivy, Nameless, and Killer rotten, even though they are busily teaching all her ferrets new tricks, like how to get over ferret barriers to go where they aren't supposed to be. And Mini Tafoya is being a wonderful and very patient mom to Attila, Hannibal, Fang, and Chester, who give new meaning to the term 'rambunctious.' These two good people are helping out other fire evacuees with their ferrets, organizing care and supplies. And other people, like Gwen McMurray and Chere McCoy of the FFDRI, are also making sure the ferrets and their owners are ok. I am truly touched and deeply grateful for the sincere caring and help these shelter folks are offering. To know that all my animals are in good hands is a genuine comfort. Fellow FMLers, please help support them, as they are doing all their usual load of shelter work and on top of that taking care of a lot of extra ferrets evacuated from the fire. If you can help (I would be sincerely grateful) please send supplies or donations to Paula Federici, PF Ferret Shelter, 2640 Calle Primavera, Santa Fe, NM 87505. She will distribute also for Gwynne McMurray at the High Dessert Ferret Shelter at 329 Moon, NE, Albuquerque, NM 87123 and to foster homes housing the ferrets. sincerely, Jacqueline Snyder [Posted in FML issue 3056]