[GSBN] new member

[Builders Without Borders]

Hello John,

Thanks for your concern.  I believe Colorado got the most extreme weather,
so I am very glad to hear Mark S is okay.  We did get nearly 6 inches of
rain in four days, so are definitely soggy here in SW New Mexico, but aside
from my leaky roof, all is well in Kingston.

Still, I am calling this the "biblical summer," as we were evacuated for 11
days in June, due to a lightning-caused forest fire in the Gila national
forest that consumed 138,000 acres, and came very close to our community.
Like Mark S., we were very grateful to be returning to our unscathed homes
and a green landscape.  But the severely burned forest put us and our
neighboring town in danger of flooding, and we did indeed get an
unprecedented flood on Aug 4, which turned our babbling creek into a raging
river, scouring the creek to bedrock, undermining roads and bridges,
carrying off low-lying lawn furniture and filling backyards with rocks,
logs and sandy loam...

But through both the fire and flood, no one was hurt, and relatively small
amount of property was damaged, so overall I am feeling very lucky, and we
are all counting our blessings.   And it also makes me very appreciative of
the fire fighters, helicopter crews and search-and-rescue professionals
across the country who are willing to risk their own lives to help others.

Rikki, I'll add another second to your nominations....thank you for
expanding the GSBN network to Chile.


Sincerely,
Catherine Wanek
Co-director
Builders Without Borders
www.builderswithoutborders.org

*Ecological builders working together for a sustainable future.*



On Sun, Sep 15, 2013 at 7:05 PM, john rehorn <rehorn at frontier.net> wrote:

> Hello Bohdan and the worldwide straw bale community,
>
> I can brief you on what I know and I'm sure the folks from the Front Range
> of Colorado can expound.  A relentless pulse of wet weather came up from
> the south about a week ago and inundated the state with more rain in a week
> than it usually gets in a year.  Hardest hit was what we call the Front
> Range of Colorado where the prairie meets the Rocky Mountains, particularly
> Boulder.  As of now, communities on the east slope are still isolated due
> to washed out roads, bridges and swollen creeks and rivers.  Everyone will
> know more in a few days, when sunny weather will return to the region.
> Many of you know and visited Mark Schueneman's gorgeous straw bale home in
> Left Hand Canyon north of Boulder.  Mark and his partner Deb evacuated and
> expected to return to a water soaked home in the best case and a scoured
> foundation in the worst.  Much to his happy shock, Mark's canyon home no
> more than twelve feet above the creek survived the flood unscathed.  Many
> of his neighbors in conventional homes were not so lucky.
>
> You might remember the colorful Scotsman/American Bob Campbell.  I've
> heard that his place in the mountains was spared serious damage, but access
> to the property is another matter.  As we hear more from others as the
> waters subside, we'll post on this list serve.  Mark S. is a member of GSBN
> as is Laura and Dusty.  Mark probably doesn't have electricity or internet
> and may be too busy cleaning up to let you know what happened any time in
> the near future.
>
> For those who attended the ISBC 2012, the beautiful town of Estes Park
> underwent significant flooding and I'm sure it will take years to fully
> recover.  Unlike floods down in the flatlands, the water in the mountains,
> of course, not only rises, but moves with tremendous force and funnels in
> narrow canyons.  It rips houses off foundations, undermines roads and
> carries away cars.  Hundreds of people are still missing.  Hopefully
> they've found a safe place to hole up until the waters subside. Many of our
> East Slope mountain towns are isolated from both transportation and
> communication at this time.
>
> Thanks Bohdan, for your concern and well wishes.  New Mexico underwent
> much flooding as well and I'm also concerned about Catherine Wanek, if
> anyone has a New Mexico update.
>
> John
> On Sep 15, 2013, at 6:09 PM, Bohdan Dorniak wrote:
>
> Hello from Australia and New Zealand****
> We from AUSBALE are wondering how our colleagues from COSBA are going
> considering what information we’ve seen on TV News.****
> Met Dusty, Laura, John and many others at the ISSBC at Estees.****
> Hope all are safe and well.****
> Regards****
> Bohdan Dorniak****
> Treasurer AUSBALE****
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