After the huge fire event of this Summer that endangered and almost destroyed all of Big Sur, and brought devastation to our region and community, an idea came up about expressing our appreciation to those who risked their lives and worked so hard to help save Big Sur from even greater devastation. We were lucky to have them.

These firefighters are not big government officials. They are good people like you and I, who have been trained, and are willing to work in a difficult, dangerous job, knowing that their work could save lives, property, and even whole towns, like Big Sur’s village. Just this year, in Northern California, 9 firefighters lost their lives in a helicopter crash. In Big Sur, there were, fortunately, no deaths. But imagine being the firefighter who lost an eye in fighting our fire in Big Sur this year. There are many, who are hurt for life doing their job. We all owe them all a special word of thanks!

And then, more recently, these brave, hard-working souls are back again to help us right here in the mountains surrounding Pacific Valley...fighting the ravages of the Chalk Peak Fire.

The idea of a way to show our thanks is to make a big, wild, colorful mural. It will show the creative fun we could have in painting it.

When it is complete, the mural will “go on tour”...maybe showing at locations around Big Sur, and beyond, including fire stations around the State of California and elsewhere across the nation. On top of that, the final goal would be to make a JPEG print of it on cards, and send those cards to the firefighting battalions and other units...all across the nation, and worldwide... who helped to save Big Sur.

As of this New Year, 2009, when we celebrate at the First Night Monterey, we want everyone to be aware of our work and expression of gratitude. You see the process here, and the progress made so far by the students of Pacific Valley School, under the direction of Art Teacher, David Allan. The work on this mural is still ongoing. This project is another endeavor under the “Ambassadors for the Arts and Environment” Community Service Learning Outreach Program at our school district.

We sincerely thank the Arts Council for Monterey County and the Big Sur Arts Initiative for their support in this “Ambassadors for the Arts and Environment” project

Contact: David Allan – davidallan7@hotmail.com