Community shows compassion to evacuees

The show of love and support from the communities in and around Fallbrook during Thursday night’s Lilac fire evacuation (Dec. 7) was impressive, and deserves recognition.

Fallbrook High School kept their gym open to evacuees, despite a no-show from the Red Cross. Unprompted, community members and school staff self-organized and provided an abundance of amenities donated by local businesses and families, including hot food, toiletries, and pet supplies. No boss, no hierarchy, just like-minded people seeing what needs done and doing it efficiently and respectfully.

More than 50 people and 25 pets claimed a small bit of respite before

SD Sheriffs called for an evacuation around 9 p.m., at which point the Fallbrook High principal and staff provided three buses for transport to Escondido.

Nothing can undo the devastating losses occurring in our community, but we can at least recognize the natural strengths in our ability to self-govern and engage compassion.

Duke Brady