Harbin Hot Springs Devastation Due To Valley Fire

Credit for these photos off facebook go to Harbin Hot Springs 

and Luiza Leite, luizaleite.com

Always a pretty bouquet in honor of those healing springs.

Favorite morning meditation & contemplation spot in the warm pool.

Long time resident of Harbin Dee (1927 - 2011) during her morning routine work out in the warm pool in 2006.

Main area of Harbin with view on the communal kitchen and showers with stairs ascending to the warm pool. 

Cats and skunks would hang near the kitchen, better be careful not to trip over them.

Harbin Hot Springs Swimming Pool

View from the trail up above over the sun deck, swimming pool and hidden the heart shaped pool where kids were welcome.

German speaking Omi, a frequent guest at Harbin, loves to smile, sing & swim.

Serenity, at the core of those hot and healing springs.

Harbin Gate Keeper to Altered States.

Deers with ferocious appetites cohabited in peace at Harbin.

Abundant trails became truly adventurous when walked at night in moon light.

Delicious blueberry pancakes for breakfast with good conversations & lots of laughter.

Harbin Restaurant with Stairs leading up to the Library.

Vegetarian meals savored among good people with open hearts and open minds.

Plenty of opportunities to come together to celebrate with ceremonies of peaceful intentions for the good of all in the warm pool.
I am certain I am not the only one feeling a need for just such, right now.

Harbin Hot Springs as it used to be, before a prior fire.

Harbin Hot Springs Now

Posterity Production posted all the photos that follow to facebook on Sunday September 13th 2015, 
after a devastating wild fire swept down the valley, through Harbin in to Middletown Saturday September 12th 2015.

The Heart, the essence of Harbin Hot Springs is still intact!
Harbin will be rebuilt. A phoenix will rise from the ashes.

Meanwhile it is up to us 'Harbingers' to nourish our inner vision of Harbin, a place of healing, of serenity, of beauty and of magic. 

We will hold it dear, and carry our vision out in to the world, bit by bit.

Harbin Lost to Valley Fire
Posted by Posterity Productions on Monday, September 14, 2015

9.18.15 PG&E: One of their power lines on contact with a tree may have ignited this fire. 

9.26.15 Update: ‪#‎ValleyFire‬ in southern Lake County is now 76,067 acres and 95%.

Today is the day of return for those that have been displaced due to the Valley Fire. It must have been a very long 2 weeks for Harbin residents who lost everything, their homes, their jobs, their community, everything. They are now all eligible for FEMA support and the collection of unemployment, thanks to the California's Governor having declared a state of emergency and thanks to President Obama's declaration of a major disaster (9.22.) with release of federal funding. Harbin's intent to rebuild is now official, but it will take time. Monday the cleaning up efforts will start. Check Harbin's website for further updates and for contributing to their Relief Fund if you are so inclined.

Update 10.16.2015 via facebook: Your donations toward Harbin residents and staff have totaled over $200,000! Please know that the result of these kind offerings serve to carry our community through a difficult and disorienting time. Should you wish to further support us in this manner please visit the bottom of the linked page.www.harbin.org

Update almost 11 months later: Faulty wiring to an outdoor hot tub caused the fire!

On Fire

may god give you the grace never to sell yourself short.

the grace to risk something big,

for something good.

the grace to know that the world is now too dangerous for anything but truth,

and too small for anything but love.

may god take your minds and think through them.

may god take your lips and speak through them,

and may god take your hearts,

and set them on fire.

Written by William Coffin and adapted by Stephen Shoemaker

Silver Lining

Is there a  silver lining?

What good may come from those terrible fires?

For over one whole month the fires have devastated glorious open lands of the Southwest, including one of New Mexico's most sacred American Indian outdoor museums, Bandelier National Park. The nearby Santa Clara Pueblo, known for it's tradition in exquisite pottery, lost homes and experienced truly devastating damage to it's watershed. To date the Conchas fire has grown to 136,955 acres, currently contained 40%. We must all be grateful to those that put their lives on the line to fight those fires for the good of us all. I can not imagine the hell of such intense heat and smoke at the fire's edge. It is bad at a distance of 60 miles. I dare not complain about my inability to sleep, night after night, due to the thickness of smoke, the dryness of the indoor air, the inability to air out and cool down.

This too shall pass, the land will reseed some, monsoon rains in the forecast will dampen the fires, maybe as soon as this upcoming weekend.

Las Conchas Fire

More smoke descended on downtown Santa Fe from yet another fire. The Las Conchas forest fire broke out around 1 p.m. June 26th and grew to 3,500 acres by night fall. Los Alamos only 12 miles away is on alert. Too close for comfort to LANL and the nuke industry. Check with the New Mexican for more specifics. Or find useful fire information here such as this:

• • What’s in smoke from a wildfire?
  • Smoke is made up of small particles, gases and water vapor. Water vapor makes up the majority of smoke. The remainder includes carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, irritant volatile organic compounds, air toxins and very small particles.
  • Is smoke bad for me? Yes. It’s a good idea to avoid breathing smoke if you can help it. 
  • Remember your P’s: people, pets, personnel papers and pictures. 

Time lapse Video by Michael Zeiler made from over 1000 stills.

Meanwhile it is past 11 PM I had to chose between more smoke drifting inside or closing windows and spending the night again in sticky, hot air. I keep 3 spray bottles with varied essential oils combos conducive to breathing in reach. My last batch made up from a few drops of Grapefruit,  fewer Lemongrass and 2 drops of Clove. It makes for a very aromatic, refreshing and pleasant scent.

Sweet dreams to those in similar time zones, mine have been vivid of late. In fact I just remember yesterday waking up as I was reaching for a chair to defend myself from an intruder. I was rather impressed with myself for having the presence of mind to reach for a chair as a tool of defense. I chalked it up to having felt a bit exposed because I had not pulled the curtain. So back again to wishing all those in need the rest they deserve.

Updates:
6.27.11, 8 a.m.: The fire has grown to about 44,000 acres and to only 1 mile distance from LANL!
6.27.11, 1 p.m.: Mandatory evacuations from Los Alamos ordered!
6.27.11, 4 p.m.: 50,000 acres! 
6.28.11:             60,000 acres! More favorable fire fighting conditions today.
6.29.11: 11 a.m.: 69,555 acres!
6.30.11:               93,000 acres!
7.03.11:             The 121,248 acres Las Conchas fire continues to burn close to Los Alamos.
                          Evacuation for Los Alamos residents is over, they may return!
7.5.11:               127,821 acres, 4 injured to date,
                          10 active fires in the state of New Mexico.
7.11.11:             148,000 acres, 50% contained 
7.15.11: 2 a.m.: 150,041 acres, 61% contained
                          (The smoke is heavy in Cochiti pueblo was again bad in Santa Fe the night before, 
                           but not today.)
7.28.11:             Las Conchas fire almost contained spread, over 244 square miles, destroyed 63 homes.
8.2.11:               Finally 100% contained!
Early morning weather patterns create extra heavy smoke.
The Espanola Animal Shelter will take in some pets, but more private boarding options are needed.

Summer Record Heat & Smoke

Credit: Mike Spieth; Pacheco Fire, Day 8, flickr 

"This afternoon produced possibly the biggest plume of smoke so far."

"The firefighting crew numbers over 700 now, and the latest size given is almost 7000 acres."

 
Summer record heat is upon us, night has fallen, temperatures have dropped, so smoke from a raging fire nearby descended upon us. The Pacheco fire has grown to cover 5,800 acres and has been contained so far by June 24th only a measly 10%.

The first time in 25 years of living in this home of mine that I can not depend on natural cool and fresh air for relieve during the night from the day's heat. Cross ventilation between my downstairs sliding door entry and my upstairs window have done a perfect job of airing out my indoor living space until the present, where unusual heavy and on-going winds, common in the month of March only, have carried smoke from fires as far as 200 miles away. 

I can tell when my eyes start to sting that the outside air holds smoke so thick it be better to guard against. With the sun's rise the smoke will dissipate and I have a few hours for ventilation before the heat gets too much in the later part of the mornings.  I am not complaining, it is not as bad as some other places, not as bad by far as some 3 weeks or so ago, when the smoke lay heavy like fog across not just town, but good parts of our state (see post below.) So sad to consider all the devastation to an area favored by hikers and wildlife.

Updates can be found here.

Credit: Mike Spieth; Pacheco Fire, Day 6, flickr

Credit: Mike Spieth; Pacheco Fire, Day 2, flickr

Where there is smoke there is fire!

Yesterday's sun glowed low on the horizon
through hazy, smoke filled air in pastel hues.

Strong winds carried serious smoke from 2 fires 200 miles away in Arizona. The smoke descended on us in downtown Santa Fe suddenly, starting last Thursday. By Monday June 6th it had gotten real bad. We were advised to stay indoors, to keep our windows shut, and to turn off swamp coolers, mind you with summer heat. Tuesday's particulates in the air were 15 times the norm.  Ash filled air made for an ominous, is it the end of the world kinda feeling. One wondered if the prophet's predictions of the rapture were late only by a few weeks. While it seemed eerie to move about a deserted downtown, those pastel hues that seemed to emanate from what looked on Monday like a glowing, bright red tennis ball above the horizon, made for an astounding spectacle. Stunning to behold such beauty,knowing it to be tied to such devastation.

"The blaze has blackened about 389,000 acres and destroyed 11 buildings, primarily in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest" according to the New Mexican. Visit this official flickr site for more images

"The Wallow Fire, the second biggest in the history of Arizona.The inferno, fueled by high winds and low humidity, is raging out of control and has consumed nearly 600 square miles (157,000 hectares) of land, prompting some 3,000 people to evacuate." Check for ongoing updates with InciWeb.

Official Photo taken 6-4-2011 by Wayne Clement, Guadalupe Fire Department, off Hwy180/US191 near Nutrioso, AZ. Credit US Forest Service, Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests.

Meanwhile having on hand liquid Cholorophyl that builds red blood cells and boosts the oxygen carrying capacity of blood is comforting to me. So is hanging my face over a pot of boiling water infused with peppermint leafs. Inhaling the steam  feels deeply calming, cleansing and comforting.