Thank You from Evenfall Studios
#11
Hello to everyone, and thank you very much for the help that you guys have contributed both individually and together. It helped immediately and immensely. We didn't get out with a lot, and as of this writing we have not been able to return to even see our former home.

You may have seen the photo on my website. It looks like our house is been put through a Blacksmith's Forge, and since then it's seen about 7 to 10 inches of rain. Whatever I can find that will be left will not likely be pretty, and if viable, will take time to refurbish. unfortunately I will have to tool up for refurbishing as well. Most of the steel that I can identify in the photos looks like it's been through too much for any real recovery. Still I am hopeful. I've got to be. Everything that I can refurbish is to our good.

I did consult a blacksmith about what happens to tools after a fire and he said it isn't good. Most of the steel gets annealed so that it's got no hardness, and in some cases it becomes too hard and is brittle as glass. As for everything else, if it isn't steel or concrete, it is most definitely burned to ash. And now, that which is steel has been sitting in wet ash for over 15 days.

We still do not know when we can return to see what's left. With over 14,000 single-family homes destroyed and 18,000+ buildings total, along with many large trees, Power lines that need to be made safe, gas lines that need to be capped, pressure tested and made safe, roads that need to be repaired, and the safety of those who are not accustomed to the dangers. The recovery will take more than likely longer than a year just to haul out the clean up of toxic waste and ash. Based on my former career in infrastructure development, I would estimate that it'll take 2.5 years before the town of Paradise, California has any semblance of being a small town again, and it'll be a longer time before it has a population of almost 29,000 again.Many people do not want to return. Many will leave the area for economics as well as bad memories. Before the fire it was a very peaceful and beautiful place to live. In spite of what has happened, we are very thankful for our time there. It was a nice place to live and make tools for woodworkers, and a nice place to just enjoy life.

Our local county doesn't have enough housing to handle this disaster, and so people are still living in shelters, there is no available housing on the real estate market, and rentals are on waiting lists of 70 people deep or more. Even storage lockers are hard to come by. Jobs are also scarce owing to the fact that entire town has been shut down because of the destruction by fire. I was self-employed in my own shop with my own tools, and now I have no shop or tools to be employed with. I'm uncertain about what kind of work I can find but I am looking. Having an income is important. We have a lot of rebuilding to do. We are staying with family and are safe, but we don't really have any personal space, and there is not room for us to replace things we lost in the fire or for a shop at the moment. However, I am interested in some tools, as long as they will work with the space I have. Of course being self employed for last 10 years, my ambition is to get back in it in some way shape or form, but until a number of things come to pass locally, the state and county will be dealing with an overwhelming situation. It's an elephant we have to eat one bite at a time unfortunately, and a lot of small steps will need to be taken to create room for progress.

I have had some offers for large tools and shop machines, and while I don't want to decline those offers, I'm currently not in a position to accept them. There is just no place to put anything. However if any of the offers can stand, there is a chance I will be talking to you in the future. It's an uncertain future and I don't know exactly how it's going to play out or what will be possible, but as I said before, I am interested in remaining self-employed as much as possible, and trying to figure out what I can do with what I have. You can destroy my tools and my shop, but you can't take away my skills or my ambition. This didn't.

Again I wanted to thank you all for your contributions and help, it was and is immensely helpful to us - we needed everything, and we are very thankful for all of you and your concern for us. I'm sorry it is taking me time to get back to everybody here, but there has been a great deal of stuff to do when something like this happens, and there still is a lot to do ahead. If anybody would still like to help out, I still have the links available on our website.

Thank you again, everyone for your help and support.

Best,


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#12
I can only imagine how hard that is to deal with Rob. I do (and many others) hope you and your family get back on your feet.
Steve

Mo.



I miss the days of using my dinghy with a girlfriend too. Zack Butler-4/18/24


 
The Revos apparently are designed to clamp railroad ties and pull together horrifically prepared joints
WaterlooMark 02/9/2020








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#13
Rob,  sorry to hear about the devastation.  I wish you the best in the recovery, which clearly will take a long long time.
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#14
Rob, it's a long way from California of course but I have plenty of space in my large pole barn here in Michigan. If you could use the space to store any donated large tools / materials / etc., I'm happy to help on that front.

Zach
Zachary Dillinger
https://www.amazon.com/author/zdillinger

Author of "On Woodworking: Notes from a Lifetime at the Bench" and "With Saw, Plane and Chisel: Making Historic American Furniture With Hand Tools", 

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#15
Hoy Hoy Rob.

So sorry to hear about the devastation, but your attitude and outlook are fantastic. Please know that you have a lot of support here on Woodnet. I'm glad to hear you are personally unharmed and have a future to look forward to. Let us hear from you from time to time.

Best wishes and take care. Stay safe.
Best,
Aram, always learning

"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery


Web: My woodworking photo site
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#16
Rob-  Thank you for writing.  I, too, am sorry for what you've gone through.  Please let us know when you are ready to accept tool donations.  I have many extra hand tools and perhaps some machine tools.  Instead of selling them I'd be glad to donate them.  I'd guess that many of us are in the same position, so let us know.
                                              Howard
                                              Fort Bragg, CA (not so far from you)
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#17
Rob, my heart breaks for you and your family. I can't imagine what it is like to lose everything you own, not to mention your livelihood. Your spirit, however, is amazing. I'm glad of that. I pray your recovery is quicker and less painful than you think.

Many of us have spare hand tools. Perhaps you could post a list the things you need to get back in the game. It would be much more efficient to send you things you can actually use than a bunch of stuff that you can't. I would be happy to send you whatever I can spare, as long as us can use it.

Good luck and thank you for the update.

Hank
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#18
(12-13-2018, 11:41 AM)Hank Knight Wrote: Rob, my heart breaks for you and your family. I can't imagine what it is like to lose everything you own, not to mention your livelihood. Your spirit, however, is amazing. I'm glad of that. I pray your recovery is quicker and less painful than you think.

Many of us have spare hand tools. Perhaps you could post a list the things you need to get back in the game. It would be much more efficient to send you things you can actually use than a bunch of stuff that you can't. I would be happy to send you whatever I can spare, as long as us can use it.

Good luck and thank you for the update.

Hank
Hello Rob;

Good to hear from you again, as Hank says, we appreciate the update... please keep them coming.  I suspect all of us could swamp you with handtools, so let us know what you want/need.  We hope that the cleanup happens as soon as is possible.
Take care;
Skip


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#19
I would never want to be in a fire or flood and lose everything.  I am just sorry I could not do more since I spent most of the funds on the vets.

Been praying for you.
As of this time I am not teaching vets to turn. Also please do not send any items to me without prior notification.  Thank You Everyone.

It is always the right time, to do the right thing.
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#20
Hey Rob,
Glad we could help out a bit.
Wishing you well and a full recovery.
Greg

It's better to burn out than it is to rust

Danchris Nursery
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