sadness and thankfulness

shocked over the news today.

{photos from CTV and Global News}

it isn't unusual to hear of fires in the vicinity of Slave Lake. northern Alberta has many forests and is susceptible to fires. i believe the initial fire was small enough that it did not really make any local news here. from what i understand it didn't concern the residents of the area a whole lot either, because it was small. for the last half of the week we have all had very strong winds, 30-50 km/hr. yesterday it was even worse. apparently they were experiencing gusts of up to 100km/hr which had disastrous results.

thankfully there are no reports of injuries or death. however many families have lost their homes. there was very little warning to the residents. i could guess that everyone has a respect for forest fires and the ability to change very quickly.

{arial view of destroyed homes. photo from ctv}

i had caught some details on facebook last night, but had no idea the situation was so terrible. some reports are that 40% of Slave Lake is burned to the ground. buildings such as the library and only radio station are gone. the news reports that various highways had been closed during the weekend and residents only had a few ways to actually flee the area. 

the story is that there was not even a formal evacuation order. it moved that quickly. it really is a miracle that the situation has not been worse.

i came across a blog that has phone numbers and addresses for donations or locating residents now displaced. 

Slave Lake was one of our favourite places to camp with our kids. 

the lake is so big and there are many campgrounds on the shoreline.

there was a section of land that had been burned by Chisholm in 2001. last summer you could see that growth of vegetation was visible while driving by enroute to our campground on Slave Lake. however you could still see how devastating it was.

sad to hear of more devastation. terribly sad for those who have lost their homes. thankful that lives have not been lost. hope that the fire is soon under control.

still sad about

this.

i haven't listened to Stephen Curtis Chapman for a long time. odd how that happens. but i remember listening to his "Great Adventure" album on cassette. still very sad to hear some sad news about their family over the weekend.

they have three children by birth. they adopted three girls from China. they actually started an organization called Shaohannah's Hope when they first started the adoption process. the youngest of their girls, Maria, had just turned five, and was killed last Wednesday in an accident at their home.

you can read about it on the family website.

or you can go to the new website they set up to commemorate Maria.

i think this kind of news hits me harder now that i'm a mother. i think of the number of near misses that we have....so thankful that it has just been that. it has been tough this week with myself and the kids being sick. but i'm so thankful that it is just a week. and that it is curable! when i hear such tragic news i am even more thankful for my own family.

i'm keeping the Chapmans in my prayers.