Yesterday, I travelled to the Woolsey burn area to help at a Disaster Assistance Center (DAC). I arrived in the morning, not exactly sure what a DAC is and how I might help. The DAC I was scheduled was set up in the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation building in Agoura Hills. Fortunately for me, a very organized volunteer and local resident Jenni walked me through part of the building introducing me to the services until people began arriving. So what is a DAC? It is a centralized place where disaster victims can go to start getting their lives back. This DAC was staffed with FEMA, the Fire Department, DMV, Health Department, Treasure Tax Collector, County Assessor, Public Works, Regional Planning, IRS, Social Security and so many more agencies that you don't even realize you need to connect with when a catastrophic event hits you at a time when rational thought has vacated the premises. Also on hand yesterday were non-profits--the Salvation Army, Methodist Charities, a charity dedicated to removing debris, and others. The DAC is important because it is an opportunity to connect with people face to face who are able to see the devastation up close rather than some faceless voice perhaps across the country with no first hand knowledge of what happened to you.

After the brief orientation, I spent the next 8 hours at the registration table checking in fire victims. It was heart wrenching at times. Stories varied from complete and total loss to not knowing when they might be able to return home and what they might find when they are able to. From those still dazed that this is their reality to those feeling guilty that their losses were less tangible. Losses they believed were not sufficient to actually feel as devastated as they were most certainly feeling. What, they wondered is being homeless for a week, a month or six when others lost so much more? How easy it for many of us to feel guilty when we see others with greater suffering. How easy it for us to minimize ourselves and our emotions.

Checking people in, I gave them a list of agencies available. I instructed them to first get their FEMA number and then to register with the County. What I didn't understand until yesterday is how important it is to get a FEMA number. Even if someone doesn't qualify for federal assistance, this number is used by many non-profits and agencies to ensure that the people they are providing services to, are those that are in fact in need of services. There will always be those that are willing to try to gain on the back of other's losses.

I also instructed people to try to visit as many of the agencies as possible and asked the agency how they were assisting victims. When you are surfacing from an event, it is hard to remember your own name much less try to figure out how the IRS or Assessor can help you today to put your devastated life back together. But help they can, in the case of the Assessor they were offering to re-assess property and were telling people not to send in their property tax payments until the re-assessment happens. One visitor thanked me on the way out telling me that the visit with the Assessor was the one ray of light she had since the ordeal began.

We registered over 100 people/families yesterday, each with their own personal stories and concerns. Parents worried about taking their children back to homes that were still standing but smoked damaged. People who had no place to go. People who had no jobs to return to. People worried about the coming rain. People wanting to know when they could return to their home. People who had lost people. People trying to lessen the burden of loved ones. People who just needed to tell their story. Tears, confusion, anger, hope, gratitude, a full range of emotions cycled through the day leaving me wrung out but knowing that I am the fortunate one--this time.

The photo above was taken in a lull at about 5:00 PM. From my post, this was the back drop of victims walking through the door toward the registration table. This was scene that I saw repeated on the drive in. Fire like tornados has no logic, one tree, house, area can be completely devastated and the next left intact. No rhyme or reason-just mother nature reminding us that she also has a brutal side.