What an absolutely heartbreaking and wild week.
Many in our community have been left frustrated, heartbroken and confounded over the last week, and we’re right there with them.
It feels like it all started with knowing friends and neighbors across the county were without power for hours — some upward of 20 hours, according to La Plata Electric Association’s outage website — in the midst of the biggest snowstorm of the year on Friday.
We were among all those in the community that morning eyeing road conditions to get to work and school on time before the school district was again left to cancel school at the last minute due to a lack of power at the school buildings and no estimated time of restoration.
Then, ironically, on the heels of our biggest storm of the year and discussions that we still haven’t had enough moisture to alleviate concerns about fire danger, those fears combined with our concern for the livelihoods of our neighbors when 3,400 U.S. Forest Service personnel — including some in our own community – were laid off.
That news hits close to home given our proximity to so much public land and with how much our community and businesses rely on nature. We know the decision means more of our neighbors have likely been thrown into uncertainty as the cost of living continues to rise, whether they worked directly for the agency or work in businesses that depend on the Forest Service to keep things safe and open.
We hoped these positions — imperative to wildfire prevention and the economies of so many places — wouldn’t fall prey to government efficiency efforts on the heels of recent natural disasters, but we were, very unfortunately, wrong.
We also don’t find it efficient that it was indicated to us that we should expect our request for numbers of layoffs within the San Juan National Forest and Pagosa Ranger District could take up to six days to be answered by the Washington office.
We hope the effort to reinstate these laid-off employees is successful.
Then, Saturday, heartbreak hit again when two lives were taken in a devastating crash on U.S. 84, with more injured. Our hearts dropped when the Colorado State Patrol sent out information stating that was one of seven fatal crashes that had taken place across the state so far that holiday weekend.
Monday we were alerted to a head-on crash on Wolf Creek Pass (thankfully no deaths were reported), then we received news that, that night, another person was killed by a vehicle.
And we know there was more that people dealt with throughout the week.
We thank all of those who are there for our community on weeks like this. Without those who selflessly serve this community, we would be in a much worse place.
Fred Rogers is often quoted as saying, “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”
This week we’re so thankful for all the helpers.
Electrical workers were out in the snowy, windy conditions seeking to restore power. Neighbors were checking in with each other and moving snow throughout neighborhoods without being asked. Bus drivers and school personnel were out on the roads, ready to transport local students and provide them a day of fun and learning despite the snowy conditions. School administrators were left with tough calls to make. We know that, no matter what choice is made, they’ll always upset some.
First responders, emergency personnel, officers and others respond to crashes knowing they could see the worst and immediately work to save lives, as well as being left to deliver horrific news when lifesaving efforts are unsuccessful. Fellow community members, advocates, counselors then step in to help people navigate their way through loss and hardship.
It truly takes an entire community to get through weeks like this, where we’re so fortunate to see so many helpers.
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