Forged in the Fires of Friendship & Kindness

Whether or not we pride ourselves for our independence, when individuals have to flee their homes because a wildfire is threatening them, we reconnect with our foundational human needs for community. Our challenge as citizens of a modern world is to find a way of choosing that sense of common good that connecting with others can grow inside us. That can motivate us to look outward to value others a step above our immediate self-interests because we recognize that there is something of so much more worth in togetherness.

This week, my agency has been preparing for a major wind event which might make the wildfires we’re already dealing with get much larger and perhaps make some new ones flare up. This is certainly not a new phenomenon for me after so many summers in a wildfire adapted ecosystem. But the last few years have been particularly severe. So I’ve had a hard time not looking back on those desperately long and sad and hard weeks where hundreds of thousands of acres of Forest Service land was burning.

But I’ve had to remind myself of the acts of heroism—big and small—that I’ve been able to witness and chronicle in my job as a digital storyteller. And when I think of the dozens and dozens of examples of selfless service to individuals and getting the chance to see communities rally behind firefighters and celebrate in the safety and small victories that some communities members experience, my faith in humanity to do remarkable things and rise in the darkest moments is brought to a bright flame.

I remember being notified by a community member who was woken up by pounding on her door by a firefighter in the middle of the night so that the person could get out of the path of the wildfire that was approaching. The community member credited the firefighter of saving her life, and I had the wonderful job of connecting the community member with the firefighter who had done her vital work with so much humility that the community member didn’t even know her name.

Then there have been the sweet stories where people have just gone out of their way to be kind to their fellow humans and also animals. I recall gather materials for a heart-warming story about a forest law enforcement officer who found a baby owl in the path of a wildfire with its parents no where to be found. So what did the LEO do? She put the baby owl in a Yeti cooler and delivered it to a bird sanctuary in town. Or the folks who offer their homes as temporary shelter during evacuation orders or the community meals that are provided free of charge and with warm smiles and handshakes all around.

Sometimes it can seem as if our species has forgotten the fact that the only way we’ve ever been successful has been by working together. But these stories of connection reminds me that none of us can make it on our own. Whether or not we pride ourselves for our independence, when individuals have to flee their homes because a wildfire is threatening them, we reconnect with our foundational human needs for community. Our challenge as citizens of a modern world is to find a way of choosing that sense of common good that connecting with others can grow inside us. That can motivate us to look outward to value others a step above our immediate self-interests because we recognize that there is something of so much more worth in togetherness.