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On November 8, 2018 my friend, Melani, was notified that she needed to immediately evacuate the place that she has called home since 1994 due to fact that a raging wildfire (what would become California's most destructive wildfire to date - known as the "Camp Fire") was rapidly approaching her hometown of Paradise, CA. There was some smoke in the air, but the fire did not seem to be extremely close, so Mel and her family began grabbing and packing what they could.
Mere minutes after getting the evacuation order, the sky became filled with so much smoke that it appeared to be nighttime even though it was just after 8:30am, and then with little warning the Church next to Mel's house began to burn, and so with the very few possessions that they'd had time to grab Mel got her Mom, sister and two fur babies loaded into her car and all thankfully made it out of Paradise safely.
The next day her cousin was able to get back into Paradise and confirmed that Mel's home (along with her Aunt's home and virtually the entire town of Paradise) had burned down to the ground - and that absolutely nothing was salvageable.
As stated above, Mel and her family barely had time to grab much of anything before fleeing for their lives. Mel is the primary breadwinner for her family - caring for her disabled sister full-time while also making sure that their Mother's needs are met. While she owned the Mobile Home that was lost, she did not own the land on which it sat, and so there will be very little insurance monies available to her family. Since they have literally lost their entire lives there is a lot that will have to be replaced.
If you can afford to give anything, please consider helping Mel and her family rebuild their lives. At the moment they have been moving around from house to house staying with friends and family, and while they are safe, the one thing that everyone going through this horrible tragedy is craving is stability. So if you are able, please join me in helping Mel and her family find that stability so that they can begin to put their lives back together again one piece at a time. If you are unable to give, please consider sharing this campaign with others so that it reaches a wider audience.
**Note - I was not sure how much to start the Goal for, and so I decided to go with what I have been told is a typical deductible for insurance claims in situations like this. Mel and her family are not expecting anything, and so they will be grateful for anything they receive. Thank you for taking the time to read this!
Mere minutes after getting the evacuation order, the sky became filled with so much smoke that it appeared to be nighttime even though it was just after 8:30am, and then with little warning the Church next to Mel's house began to burn, and so with the very few possessions that they'd had time to grab Mel got her Mom, sister and two fur babies loaded into her car and all thankfully made it out of Paradise safely.
The next day her cousin was able to get back into Paradise and confirmed that Mel's home (along with her Aunt's home and virtually the entire town of Paradise) had burned down to the ground - and that absolutely nothing was salvageable.
As stated above, Mel and her family barely had time to grab much of anything before fleeing for their lives. Mel is the primary breadwinner for her family - caring for her disabled sister full-time while also making sure that their Mother's needs are met. While she owned the Mobile Home that was lost, she did not own the land on which it sat, and so there will be very little insurance monies available to her family. Since they have literally lost their entire lives there is a lot that will have to be replaced.
If you can afford to give anything, please consider helping Mel and her family rebuild their lives. At the moment they have been moving around from house to house staying with friends and family, and while they are safe, the one thing that everyone going through this horrible tragedy is craving is stability. So if you are able, please join me in helping Mel and her family find that stability so that they can begin to put their lives back together again one piece at a time. If you are unable to give, please consider sharing this campaign with others so that it reaches a wider audience.
**Note - I was not sure how much to start the Goal for, and so I decided to go with what I have been told is a typical deductible for insurance claims in situations like this. Mel and her family are not expecting anything, and so they will be grateful for anything they receive. Thank you for taking the time to read this!