Scripps Ranch Fire October 31, 2003
October 31, Halloween, I was swamped today with correspondence for an upcoming trip to Haiti, but at about 4 pm I finally broke away from the computer and drove the 3 miles from my home to Scripps Ranch. I wanted to find some images to fit the day...maybe some kids in Halloween costumes strolling past a backdrop of a destroyed home or something like that. Well, I wasn't finding anything, so I drove over towards Fairbrook....Earlier in the week, I had received an email from a guy in Cincinnati wanting to know if I could take a picture of a specific address on Fairbrook for his wife's parents who were staying with him. They wanted to see the extent of the damage done to their house. I found the address in question...the house was a total loss. I made several photos and later that night emailed them off to Ohio. The next morning the man emailed me back with thanks, saying that it had really helped to see the home, even though there was nothing left. Furthermore he said he would like to send a donation to the Red Cross on my behalf...I felt like the images had actually helped someone in some small way, and this guy was again "paying it forward" for some recipient of Red Cross aid. He also told me that his wife's parents would be returning to San DIego to see their home for the first time since the fire. I figured I would cruise by and see if they were there.....sure enough, Pam and David, were there, walking through the remains of their home...I walked up and introduced myself to David just as he was prying open a melted steel desk drawer, trying to retrieve a locked box containing some important items. The box was charred but intact, David didn't have the key, and he and Pam needed to leave to meet someone, so we parted company.....some day I'm going to call David and Pam to ask if anything in that box survived....if so, it will be a small but sweet victory.

Not many photos today, and this will likely be the last set of images until I resume the photo story upon my return from Haiti. Good luck Scripps Ranch, and by the way, grab your cameras and get some photos while I'm away.....somebody's got to document the reconstruction !