Hi Friends,
I have not been able to keep my mind off all the fires in the Northwest and all the grief they have caused. California is so dry that a fire which started on a Saturday in Lake County had burned 30,000 acres by Sunday. Harbin Hot Springs, where I go with my partner Randy for retreats, has been incinerated. People have lost everything – evacuated from their homes, all their worldly possessions gone in the blink of an eye. This past week’s Valley and Butte fires brought the total number of acres burned in California this year to over 700,000 with another month left of fire season.
Back in 2008, we had over 1000 fires going at once. I wrote a song, “California’s Burning”. I’ve just done a quick recording of it and am sharing it as an mp3, along with the words. I am also listing three options with links for places to donate to the victims of this drought and subsequent fires that will help these people directly.
If the song moves you, please help. Even a small donation will be put to good use. I’d appreciate this: if you do make a donation, just reply to [email protected]. Write Yes in the subject heading. I don’t need to know how much you’ve donated but I’d love to know if I’ve made a difference and I just hope I can do some good here in my own way.

#1: https://act.climaterelief.org/donate/donate_CAdrought_350_wildfires
CA Drought Relief Fund Co-sponsored by 350.org:
Help People Affected by Wildfires and Drought in CA
The Every Last Drop Promise: 100% of your donation will go to our local Relief Partners who are helping people affected by wildfires and drought in California. Your money will be put to work providing:

• Emergency financial assistance to victims of wildfires through the Supplying Aid to Victims of Emergency (SAVE) program
• Support for firefighters and their families across the state
• Bottled water supplies to households in poor communities where wells have run dry
• Water storage tanks for homes and communities, and residential hookups to municipal water mains

#2: Donate securely online at: www.redwoodcu.org/lakecountyfirevictims (through the Redwood Credit Union) (Please note: there is a small online processing charge. I donated $50 and paid an additional $1.80. I could also have incorporated the charge into my donation). To donate in person: Visit any of RCU’s 16 North Bay or San Francisco branches to make your donation.
To donate by mail: Mail check payable to Lake County Fire Victims Fund.Mail to: Lake County Fire Victims Fund c/o Redwood Credit Union, PO Box 6104, Santa Rosa, CA 95406.

#3: For those of you with a personal connection to Harbin Hot Springs: go to harbin.org. Staff relief information is on the front page. You can donate through PayPal (you don’t need a PayPal account) or you can donate by check.
At the time of the fire on Saturday 9/12, a total of 285 residents, practitioners and local staff worked at Harbin from phone operators and yoga instructors, to cooks, carpenters, housekeepers, gardeners and water system operators. A large percentage of these people were not typically seen by guests, but their contributions were critical to providing the Harbin experience for those who came here for retreats, workshops and day visits. Now, many of these individuals have simultaneously lost their homes, possessions, community of friends, neighbors, and place of work. 100% of the money collected will go to Harbin residents and employees.

Here are the words to the song. Thanks to Randy Berge for the lead guitar on the recording.
CALIFORNIA’S BURNING (Hali Hammer)
California’s burning – The sky’s a smoky gray
California’s burning – Don’t go outside to play
California’s burning – With fires flaring near, it’s hard to breathe the air
California’s burning

California’s burning – The sun peeks through the haze
California’s burning – Don’t see it much these days
California’s burning – It sets a molten red, I wish that it were gold instead
Cause California’s burning

Insatiable fires send birds flying from their wires
So many of them, how did they begin?
Like a scene from ancient Rome, folks evacuating homes
While ashes boldly ride upon the wind

California’s burning – It’s burning up the trees
California’s burning – That brings you to your knees
California’s burning – The animals have fled their cozy forest beds
While California’s burning

Insatiable fires send birds flying from their wires
So many of them, how did they begin?
Like a scene from ancient Rome, folks evacuating homes
While ashes boldly ride upon the wind

California’s burning – Hot embers fill the sky
California’s burning – They bring tears to my eyes
California’s burning – It makes you want to cry with everything so dry
California’s burning – California’s burning – California’s burning