To help in community recovery for our neighbors who lost their homes in the Cerro Grande fire, Los Alamos Rotary Club members installed fences at the FEMA temporary mobile home park on North Mesa. Teaming with Los Alamos Rotarians, nine members of the Mennonite Christian Disaster Relief Group from Texline, NM, volunteered their assistance and forty-three fences were placed at "FEMAville".

Rotarians volunteered their time, expertise and club funding to purchase materials and install fences for more than half the residences. Members and their families and Mennonite friends measured, dug post holes, mixed and poured concrete, installed gates and posts, set T-posts and installed fencing. Los Alamos County and FEMA approved a group building permit for the fences, following a standard design. Costs of the materials averaged $100 per unit.

Rotarians Jeannette Barras, a local architect, designed the fence area for the mobile homes and Thurman Talley served as the fence project director. Same materials were donated by Hacienda Home Center in Espanola and some services were donated, not only by the Mennonites but also by the Los Alamos Kennel Club as their members felt the fencing would benefit the animals.

The ground in the area ranged from soft to extremely hard, and some posts had to be driven into tuff. The job was a good workout for the crews. Some volunteers equated it with an afternoon at the gym! Police Chief and Rotarian Rich Melton topped the list as the best pile driver in town!

County Councilman and Rotarian James Rickman humorously related that he had let a friend's small dog out the door of his temporary mobile home. When the dog did not return in the expected time, he and his friend began to search the area. They found the little dog patiently waiting on the porch of an identical home. Now that fences are in place, there are fewer misguided pets - or children!

July 2000 : Building fences at FEMAville
(click on image for larger version . . even larger version available on request)