Letter: What's next you ask?

he Caldor Fire was a whirlwind. We anticipated it for weeks, seeing & smelling smoke. We watched as our entire town was evacuated one area by one in a matter of days. We packed our cars, we checked in with our loved ones, & we scattered. To Carson, to Reno, to Sacramento, to Mammoth, to Santa Cruz. We waited for news of our friends + family fighting the fire, our homes, our businesses. It seemed like our lives came to a stop while we waited & the rest of the world went on.

But Tahoe is resilient. Not just our forests & our animals & our environment, but our community. We came together as a community not just because we needed to but because we wanted to. Fundraisers were immediately created for the displaced who were in need, available houses were offered up in an instant - you saw people giving everything they had to offer without a blink of an eye.

We shared news & we shared worry. We shared the trauma of going through a natural disaster. Our community was showing once again how important kindness, generosity, & coming together really is. Then, we shared the joy of coming home. Coming home to our homes & our town. We shared the massive ball of gratitude in our hearts for each & every first responder that worked the Caldor Fire. So, what's next you ask?

Our community will continue to persevere. We will continue to come together, to work together, & to live together. We will continue to push each other to be our best selves. That's what's next. Tahoe STRONG.

Fundraisers continue to raise funds for those who were displaced & are in need of assistance due to the Caldor Fire. Please contribute if you're able:

Lake Valley Firefighter's Relief Fund
El Dorado Community Foundation Caldor Fire Fund

- Cassidy Jackson