For those of you not aware, the entire town of Paradise California was wiped out last week in one of the worst wildfires in US History. As of today, 63 people have lost their lives, with over 600 still missing. Many thousands have lost their homes and countless businesses have been affected, including Fisher Model and Pattern, one of finest manufacturers of 1/32 scale resin aircraft, 1/32, 1/72, and 1/48 scale aftermarket kits, and 1/24 scale competition cars. Fisher Model & Patern was located in Paradise CA and Paul lost his home and his company simultaneously in this devastating disaster. A Go Fund Me page has been set up to help Paul and his family. Here is the link:
https://www.gofundme.com/paul-fisher-fire-relief?fbclid=IwAR0qiJpcr9I_O7qEVqRfIn3WyRW0Zipq8Ik3yLWVWWDBBjOviDGRwbeRk4I

For any of you not familiar with Fisher Model, here's a link to the web page, but as far as I'm aware, they were completely wiped out, so I'm not sure if they are able to sell any items:

http://www.fishermodels.com/store

VR, Russ

Bump, in case you missed it.
VR, Russ

Hi Russ - Saw this on Hyperscale yesterday - a tragedy to be sure for the very talented Mr Fisher and many , many others as well . An entire town - homes , businesses- gone as I understand it. Unimaginable. Our thoughts and prayers to all- thank you for calling our attention to it. I am experiencing some computer troubles at the moment . Would you mind posting this on Kitmaker's AutoModeler site along with a link to his GoFund Me page ? Many car guys may be aware of his beautiful race car models .I can't seem to post the link .

Thanks again - Richard

Richard,
Sure-- I'll get it over to auto modeler and post on the general Kitmaker page too.
VR, Russ

Thanks for highlighting this Russ

I'm hearing similar things in the music community, with folks literally losing everything. The sheer scale of the devastation is still only sinking in, and the number of missing people is rising every time I check the Beeb.

I'll do a News item aimed at readers who don't visit the forums.

All the best

Rowan

Thanks Rowan, I'm sure it will be appreciated. It's especially a loss for the modeling community, as Paul Fisher's kits were some of the best in the resin market, and he had many kits that no one else would manufacture, especially in the jet aircraft and the competition car racing area. My understanding is he has lost everything, including his home and the business, and was lucky to escape with his wife. I'm not sure about his one employee who is of Australian decent. Information is rather sketchy. Large Scale Planes has more information because Paul was a frequent contributor.
The sheer vastness of the devastation and the rapidity with which it happened has not yet been fully appreciated by many folks here in the US , but with over 600 still missing and damages listed in the trillions of $$, this will likely be one of the most damaging disasters in US history. Let alone the loss of life. My understanding is the CA National Guard has been activated for relief, and for cadaver recovery. I was around for the Mt. St Helens Disaster in Washington state in 1980-- so my experience is when the National Guard arrives for cadaver recovery, it's a serious issue.
VR, Russ

Hi again Russ

Thanks for your link. I've chipped in as much as I can afford. I'm afraid it's a drop in the ocean in the scale of things, but I hope there are enough similar drops to help Paul and all those caught up in this disaster begin to rebuild their lives.

All the best

Rowan

Rowan, thank you, I'm sure anything folks can chip in will be very much appreciated.
VR, Russ

Thank you for posting this.

I understand as of this morning, the death toll has been revised, with 71 confirmed dead, and over 1,000 missing, with more than 15,000 homes and businesses destroyed. This is rapidly becoming a major disaster of epic proportions. Hopefully those missing will be found alive.
VR, Russ