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Donna Birkenbuel
Hello everyone,
It's been a long summer. My home in Ruidoso is a total loss from the fire. I have lost everything in and around the house and garage except for the clothes in my suitcase, my laptop, briefcase, and the usual toiletries.
I had left that morning about 10:00 for a doctor appointment in Las Cruces and didn't know about the fire until someone asked me that afternoon, "Have you heard about the fire?" My response "What fire?" My route was through Hwy 70, and it was already closed at Apache Summit by that time. The only road left open was Hwy 70 to Roswell. I wasn't able to go back and save anything.
After staying in motels and hotels for a while, I am now staying at a house in the Upper Canyon my insurance found for me. Huge improvement in accomodations! You don't realize how helpful a pair of kitchen shears are until you don't have them. That goes for a lot of other things, too.
A church group called Samaritan's Purse that travels to disaster areas all around the country helped me in my first search. They made me sit as they looked through the rubble and ashes. I was astonished to see that all the Corningware they found was still intact and unscathed. Then another lady found my mother's collection of small ceramic vases, and every one of them was intact, too!! They told me "what is forged in fire (a kiln) will survive a fire." Maybe the ceramic clock and some small things my mother and I made together are still there. It gives me hope. I'm planning on going back with other helpers. (Read: Strong men and women with shovels and necessary equipment. Please let me know if anyone has any leads.) Weather permitting, I'm going to continue to look for anything we can find.
My insurance company has been very helpful, but they have had some personnel issues and we are still going through the process. They are not only dealing with fire claims, they are now inundated with flood claims, too.
May God bless and be with all of you.
I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE UP.
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