Katalyst

We’ve been enduring a wildfire here in Boulder, CO that has ravaged our beautiful Fourmile Canyon and taken with it 135 homes, countless trees, shrubs and wildflowers, to date.

The fire is not out yet, but a welcome rain fell yesterday afternoon that helped firefighters battle the blaze and squelched the ugly smoke that’s been filling our lungs and stinging our eyes.

Patio dining, which we Boulderites love, has become a health risk. Schools have curtailed outdoor programs and sports until the air quality improves. We are living in a valley, after all, and the smoke just settles in.

Still, as much as a nice breeze would disperse the smoke, the winds are what drove the fire rapidly through the canyon in the first place. So, this outdoor-loving community is mostly staying indoors – watching the Slurry Bombers circle our community before they dive into the canyon and drop bright orange fire retardant on the flames below.

Everyone here knows someone who has either lost their home or been driven out of their community, not knowing if they will find their home standing when they are allowed to return. People are searching the Boulder Humane Society for their pets, hoping that they were picked up by firefighters and rescue teams.

The social media networks have played an enormous role in connecting people to services and a Twitter hashtag #boulderfire quickly went up to provide instant information to fire victims and the community (read a great post on social media’s impact during this tragedy). Now mainstream media are using the #boulderfire hashtag to further connect people to news updates and help them find relief services.

My contribution to all of this (besides household goods, clothes and offering my home to friends) is this image, shot late in the day yesterday. The smoke and ash was illuminated by sun and rain to create a magnificent double rainbow that could be seen arching over the entire County of Boulder.

Even in bleak moments, rainbows happen.

Namaste,

Kat