HELIOLITH

It has been a rough week for the people of La Conchita, California and everyone connected to their community. Today was the funeral of our friend Vanessa Bryson, the one that I reported was missing in my last entry. The Ventura County Star has a good article called, “10 victims, 10 stories: La Conchita’s losses” which includes a brief portrait of Vanessa. “There were a total of 10 confirmed deaths, and search and rescue efforts were concluded on Friday. Here is a list of the names and ages of those who lost their lives: Michael Alvis – age 53, Vanessa Bryson – age 28, Christina Kennedy – age 45, John Morgan – age 56, Patrick Roderick – age 47, Hannah Wallet – age 10, Michelle Wallet – age 37, Paloma Wallet – age 2, Raven Wallet – age 6, Charles Womack – age 51.

There are several funerals this week. It’s a difficult situation, since no one is going so far as to say that everyone has been found, yet no one is confirmed as still missing. One search and rescue worker told me he had heard that undocumented migrant workers may have been living in the affected area. When they called off the rescue efforts, it was at a point when there was no hope of survival for anyone might possibly have still been buried.

I wrote this updated entry for friends, family, and the traffic from the rest of the world. I write in honor of the fallen, and the displaced. Apparently my earlier entry is within the first ten hits if you google (in quotes) “La Conchita Landslide” which I think is simply because most of the discussion is about the “La Conchita Mudslide” According to the CDC, “Landslides occur when masses of rock, earth, or debris move down a slope. Debris flows, also known as mudslides, are a common type of fast-moving landslide that tends to flow in channels.” Wikipedia’s definition is similar. The USGS has a page specifically addressing the 2005 landslide in L.C.

The brilliant encyclopedic community of Wikipedia has also published an entry on La Conchita, which in case you’re unfamiliar with Wikipedia, is directly editable by anyone. Non-factual or malicious edits are quickly reverted (erased) by the huge community of Wikipedians. You can see the story on L.C. was just created in it’s page-history. La Conchita was an is special community, though its members are somewhat dispersed by the slide. Wikipedia’s entry states, “Because this tiny enclave is isolated from the larger towns nearby it has evolved into an eclectic tight knit community of artists, beatniks and outdoor enthusiasts.”

The county has put signs up that read, “County officials advise against entry into the hazard area. There is no warning system for these hazards. Enter at your own risk.” The La Times runs a story of many who are choosing to go back despite the risks. Some hope the local government will do something to protect them, while others acknowledge that such an engineering feat would cost millions upon millions of dollars, and most likely require the removal of most of the hillside. There is talk about building structures to withstand a slide, but many believe that that is simply impossible, or impractical. Those who own a home there are hard-pressed to leave, with no assets, to return to becoming renters and having nothing. Better to evacuate when there is risk of the hill moving they say, and hope that it doesn’t happen again anytime soon. I hope that families with children at least will live elsewhere. To consciously accept so high a risk is something that only an adult should do if they wish.

Help Out
The Star has a list of ways of helping, but there are quite a few more personal tributes and links that have been created in response to the disaster. “Victims of La Conchita” is a site with links of funds set up for many of the families of the victims, as well as bulletins to community events, and a fairly active messageboard forum. Carpinteria based “Friends of La Conchita” was created to connect people giving with people who need goods and services. The “La Conchita Relief Fund” was set up in a similar way to organize help, and includes links to donate electronically. Another touching memorial centered around Charlie Womack (aka Charlie Llama and Papa Chonga) can be found here: http://www.theclandestino.com/.

The Star had some really good coverage as I mentioned last time, but it’s already fallen from the front page. You can find some of it with an internal search. Y para los hispanohablantes, hay un articulo en español acerca del deslave en La Conchita

If the VC Star or the LA Times won’t let you in without an account, try bugmenot.com for easy-access.

In memory of those who lost their lives. Please add links or details if you have them in the comments.