600+ homes and structures as of this morning apparently. My father lost his house in the fires in N. California as did many of my friends (my best man from my wedding, many I worked with, this past October in Santa Rosa, CA. (why I have been offline a while). He has the clothes on his back and his car. That was it!
Dealing with losing everything and starting over is emotionally draining and sets you into a spin of emotions. You can replace where you live but there are many things you can’t replace. I lost all my childhood videos, photos of my family which I don’t have other photos of, etc. I feel for Chuck and Andy, and others on the Big Island going through the event of losing a home. My dad was a blues harmonica player and lost it all, including many custom built mics and custom harmonicas and amps from people who aren’t around any longer. All his artwork was very limited and can’t be replaced so he is still depressed. He has a new place to live but he feels it will never be his home after 77 years of making a life there. Even worse he is in a condo because that is all he could afford and hates it.
He would of been one of the people who died as his home was the first hit over the hill before it wiped out his entire subdivision. By some miracle he was tired the night before and stayed at our house about 80 miles South after visiting my daughter in College. So, we still have him and he knows how fortunate he was which is #1.
I have family in Kona who were on the phone with my mom when the big quake hit a while back. It’s definitely a very sad situation and thankfully there has been no mass loss of life. I pray for everyone as I am just getting through the hardest part with my dad and losing everything. Yes, he did have insurance so he could find a place to live but it won’t replace a lot of him that he feels he lost.
Family and friends are #1. Sorry for the sideways photos. Looked normal on my end but can't figure how to rotate them.