Fire and Water:
The Beautiful Cycle of Life
I have been responding to emergencies since I was 13 years old. My mom brought me home an article about the Civil Air Patrol and how kids were learning to fly and I was instantly hooked. What I didn’t know at the time was that my love of flying would be eclipsed by my love for the emergency services field. I loved learning ground search and rescue techniques used to find survivors of plane crashes, I loved learning first aid techniques to treat injuries, and I loved working with a team of people to solve complex problems.
Who thinks when they are young that their life will revolve around moving from one disaster to another? Well, that one newspaper article ended up leading my life on a course I never would have imagined. At the age of 16, I was the first on scene of a fatal car accident involving a close friend. At the age of 18, I responded as part of the search and rescue team to a plane crash where I knew the pilot. And at the most relaxing and beautiful place on earth — a Grateful Dead Show — I assisted a stranger who had a seizure and almost died. This last instance caused me to move back to Colorado and start my career — first as a volunter firefigher and later as a paramedic.
What I loved most about the career I had chosen was the need to look at things from a systems perspective and to attempt to solve problems that had no good solution. And the only career that could possibly add complexity was the field of emergency management. Unlike most, I do not hope and pray that no disaster will ever happen. And contrary to popular belief, I also do not wish for bad things to happen. Where I see things differently is that I see the interconnections, interdependencies, and beautiful complexity. Bad things WILL happen. I’d like to be able to help when they do.
Without wildfire, we have disease and dying forests. Without rain, we have drought, water rationing, and catastrophic wildfires that we are unable to control. Most disasters center around weather events, which keep the earth in homeostasis, much like the human body. So when I look at disasters, I see them from a different point of view. Instead of trying to eliminate them, or control them, I like the idea of moving through each disaster and growing stronger from the experience. By doing this, the system becomes more adaptable and flexible — better able to handle the next thing that comes along.
Since this blog is dedicated to providing lessons from one community member to another, I will take off my emergency manager hat for a second and speak from the perspective of a resident of Larimer County. This is a place where diversity is all around us and the threat of disaster lies in every season. But even if I never face another disaster myself, I will face hardship and challenges. Bad things will happen — they happen to everyone. What I have learned in my field is that although bad things happen, it doesn’t mean that we have to live in fear or stop seeing the beauty that lies all around us. I see the beauty in the sunrise and the beauty of our natural environment here in Larimer County. But I also see the beauty in fire and rain. My eyes remain wide open so that I can see all that the world has to offer — good and bad.
So my one lesson is to stay open. Be aware. Know what is happening around you. Introduce yourself to a neighbor and get to know them. Find a weather app you like or buy a weather radio and remain informed. Keep your eyes open. Not only will you be ready for the next big disaster, but you may just see the beauty that exists all around you every other day of your life.
Submitted by: Lori Hodges, Larimer County Resident
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