High Sierra Topix

HST Family,

One of our HST family members, Brian Schmalz, aka “schmalz,” lost his home and belongings in the Eaton Fire while taking his son Owen on a skiing vacation.

I emailed Brian on Thursday, letting him know that a crowdsourcing platform would send him info to submit, after which I could add the link here for donations, but I have not heard back from him yet.

Please keep Brian and Owen in your thoughts and prayers in the meantime. We have other members in the evacuation warning areas, so keep them in your thoughts and prayers, as are all those affected by these fires.

This was his Facebook post on Wednesday, which was sent to me by a HST member:

Today was the strangest day of my life.

Owen and I are on a ski trip as he wraps up winter break. When I was his age, skiing was easily my favorite thing in the world. Once I became a dad, getting Owen out on the slopes has been a somewhat big goal of mine. It took awhile until that felt right, but
we started the process last spring. Today was a beautiful day at the mountain, Owen did great, it was pretty perfect.

Meanwhile, our home and entire community of Altadena was erased today. Owen’s entire world. The sense of loss here can’t be put into words.

Owen doesn’t know yet. I figure he deserves a few more days of innocence before plunging into our new reality. It’s too much for me to wrap my head around to be honest.

https://scontent-sjc3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/ ... e=6785E541


Here is the donation link: http://ffnd.co/NHBH9g

Thanks for the heads up Peter. We sent Brian a PM, and are open to sending them some cash if they need it.

Thank you, Ian.

Thank you. Sorry to hear it. Sent him a PM.

Hey fellow HSTers,

I am sad to confirm Maverick's news. It's a massive tragedy. I'm not sure if you've all been following what happened with this fire, but we aren't just mourning the loss of our house and possessions. The majority of our beloved community of Altadena also burned down. It's so painful.

Owen and I were out of town on a ski trip when this happened, but my partner Marissa was able to safely evacuate herself and our pets from the house, along with some important documents. I'm very glad that she didn't focus on trying to save more. The speed at which this fire enveloped the community is staggering, and I had a science teacher die trying to save his house from the Berkeley fires in 1991, when I was the same age as Owen.

I think Mav is going to provide a crowdfunding link. If you choose to contribute, thank you. If you just want to express some sympathy here, thank you. This tragedy has helped reteach me to be grateful for any positivity.

Love,
Brian

Brian -
I enjoyed meeting you this last July; I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your home and belongings. But thankful that Marissa and Owen are okay (as well as your pets (which can be a comfort when things are difficult); hoping that your son especially can find continued connection to his friends. I know that might be hard if his school suffered damage and familiar activities are no longer available, but wishing the best for him and for you all.
Mike (grampy)

The donation link has now been added and is located at the bottom of the first post. Thank you!

We have you & Owen in our thoughts, Brian.

Donated

Such a tragedy, and so sorry to hear this