Lynn moved to the Town of Paradise in 2012 to retire in a small town surrounded by nature. She quickly became a fixture in the local yoga community, where she taught popular yoga classes. The morning of the 2018 Camp Fire she was on her way to teach a class when a neighbor called to let her know how quickly the fire was spreading and to evacuate immediately. What was normally a 20-minute drive down the hill took over 4 hours with backed up traffic; people trying to evacuate on the same small road. Lynn lost everything but her car and her dogs in the fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe day after the fire… I said, \u2018I\u2019m going home. I\u2019m going back to be THE yoga teacher in Paradise,\u2019 because so many people need that, need me, and I need them,\u201d she told GRID. She said, \u201c I had no idea what it looked like. None. I had no idea what I was gonna do for money. What I would do for work. I mean I had none. I just had this laser focus intention: I\u2019m going home.\u201d<\/p>\n
As part of GRID\u2019s Disaster Recovery Initiative, Lynn is the recipient of our first no-cost solar plus battery storage system installation. Over the past couple of years, GRID has been an active member of the Camp Fire Long Term Recovery Group and ongoing support efforts to build affordable housing while integrating clean and resilient energy technology solutions for fire survivors. <\/p>\n
Lynn\u2019s newly rebuilt home will feature a yoga space for teaching post-pandemic classes and a guest room should she have to get a roommate to help with expenses in later years. \u201cThat\u2019s not my house, that’s the community\u2019s house,\u201d she explained. \u201cI told [my students], I have an open-door policy, unless I\u2019m sick, sleeping, or otherwise engaged, come on in, this is your house.\u201d <\/p>\n
But finances were a big worry for Lynn. \u201cI\u2019m on social security, I just turned 69, and I have 2 serious lung diseases. I haven\u2019t worked in a year and a half. I had lost all my jobs, and I did more than teach yoga, I had a pretty active business and community life up there\u2026 I was applying for everything I could find for financial assistance and grants and loans.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil I started working with [GRID] and realized that with solar, my generator, my electric bill, and my car could be taken off my bottom line, I didn\u2019t know if I was going to have enough money to finish this house.\u201d<\/p>\n
The environmental benefits of solar and battery storage are also very meaningful to Lynn. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to reduce my carbon footprint, so to know that it will be smaller, that my utility use will be less, that I\u2019m not using fuel in my car to go up and down that hill, that I can charge my car in my garage free with my solar panels, and I don\u2019t have to use gas to run a generator because now I have battery storage. It makes me feel clean. It makes me feel like I\u2019m contributing\u2026 and in so doing, perhaps bring a little more awareness to people up there about our impact on the environment, our own personal impact…because that\u2019s where it starts, it starts with me.\u201d <\/p>\n
Devastating wildfire and increased fire risk leading to longer and more frequent utility public safety power shutoffs are impacting vulnerable communities and people like Lynn. GRID\u2019s Disaster Recovery Initiative supports efforts to build affordable housing while integrating clean and resilient energy technology solutions like battery storage for fire survivors to alleviate some of those disparate impacts.<\/p>\n
You can help support more people like Lynn with clean energy benefits that also help the planet by making a donation<\/a> or becoming a sustaining GRID member<\/a> today! [link]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Lynn moved to the Town of Paradise in 2012 to retire in a small town surrounded by nature. She quickly became a fixture in the local yoga community, where she taught popular yoga classes. The morning of the 2018 Camp Fire she was on her way to teach a class when a neighbor called to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"audience":[],"content-type":[12],"focus-area":[29,31],"region":[15],"series":[],"content-author":[],"class_list":["post-7036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","content-type-news","focus-area-clients","focus-area-environmental-justice","region-northern-california"],"acf":{"hero_media_type":"image","hero_media_image":null,"hero_media_url":"","hero_media_poster":null,"hero_video_play":"inline","related_stories":null,"pattern_override":null,"story_callouts":null,"media":null,"featured_blog_post":null,"featured_event":null,"pdf_download":null,"blockquote":null,"author":null,"notice":null,"social_embed":null,"contact_card":null,"meta_details":null,"faq":null,"table":null},"yoast_head":"\n