FLOODS for example: "Unfortunately, early August floods in southeastern Wisconsin have caused extensive damage to many of your homes and businesses. Even worse, for some of you this isn’t the first time you have experi-enced flooding. ... I realize that some of what you lost cannot be replaced. No amount of money can replace lost photographs or scrapbooks. But I assure you that the state government will help you secure the assistance that is available..."
(Governor Tommy Thompson to the people of Wisconsin 1998.)
and FIRES: "Stories of heartbreaking loss have emerged from a ... blaze which destroyed a storage warehouse ... on Wednesday.
"As fire investigators yesterday began tracking the cause of the fire which levelled the ... building in Chappie Place, several people whose personal effects were destroyed visited the site yesterday, some in tears."Professor Campbell, a specialist in native American languages, said the loss of family photographs and mementos of his field work in Latin America over a lifetime were heartbreaking.
'It's all my heritage,' he said."
and More FIRES: "All the historical family photos are gone. The Italian stemware passed down from mother to daughter for three generations is no more. Asia, the 5-year-old Chocolate Labrador Retriever, could not be saved. There were so many special things that Dennis and Francine Cram and their three children lost a week ago when their home on Granny Kent Pond burned during an afternoon fire. But from the blaze, which destroyed their 40-year-old house, the Crams gained something they did not expect - a new awareness about how much people care."
(Friday, October 11, 2002, Portland Press Herald)
WHAT THE ASHLAND OREGON FIRE & RESCUE RECOMMENDS:
PRE-FIRE PLANNING
• Plan at least two evacuation routes from your neighborhood to a designated meeting place outside of your neighborhood.
• Meet with your neighbors and discuss their evacuation plans
• Plan to assist neighbors who will need help evacuating.
• Identify what you will take with you when you evacuate.
• Store photograph negatives at another location. Families who have lost their homes to wildfire MOST REGRET the LOSS OF FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS.
