Community sends letters of forgiveness to couple who accidentally sparked Carr Fire

SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. (KTVU) - Rachel Pilli of Redding watched as her community was destroyed by the Carr Fire in a paradox of grief and gratitude. She was thankful her family's lives and home were spared, but watched as her dear friends lost everything. 

Amid the tragedy, Pilli kept thinking about a couple she didn't know - the couple who accidentally started the fire. 

As Pilli heard the news that the couple's trailer had sparked the fire, she began praying for the couple to find peace. 

Pilli learned from a family friend that the wife was blaming herself. She learned the woman was devastated and filled with guilt spending her days and nights crying on the couch.

Pilli tells KTVU, "The couple is feeling so sad and the wife is blaming herself. I can't imagine how anyone could live with that grief.... it's nothing intentional they did. Accidents happen all the time. If I were in that situation I would want to community to react and I can see myself in her shoes."

Pilli decided the simple act of writing a letter might help. So she put pen to paper to write a simple note of forgiveness. 

"I wish I could do something. I could just give a card. Write that she's loved. No one blames her." 

Pilli thought maybe her friends would want to write letters too, so she posted a simple message on Facebook that read, "We personally know someone whose mom is a neighbor to the man whose trailer accident led to (the) Carr Fire. Many have been thinking and praying for this man. We learned that his wife is blaming herself for the Carr Fire, because she asked him to take the trailer in the first place. She has been crying day and night on her couch. Do you think we can show some grace and extend kindness (and even forgiveness) for the shame and despair that she is experiencing? Would you like to send a note that we will include in a card for them? "

She thought she might get 20 messages if she was lucky. But in the next 48 hours she was flooded with 650 cards and messages of compassion for the couple.

"The number of shares and the people asking me questions - I was just overwhelmed by the love and compassion and generosity the community is sending to them. I was in tears. I couldn't contain myself," said Pilli.

Many of the responses were from fire victims who offered forgiveness to the couple. Most of the notes echoed the sentiment posted by Teresa Souza, "This fire took the homes of my parents, my grandmother and myself. But not once have I blamed you! It was an accident, nothing more. Please do not torment yourself further! God bless you, be at peace."

Pilli is continuing to receive the cards and is planning to have a firefighter deliver them next week. 

She hopes the messages will help in the couple's journey of finding peace and forgiveness. 

"I'm hoping they'll know they are loved. And forgiven. There's nothing they could have done otherwise. That we are all for them," she said. 

Pilli is screening the letters to make sure she only delivers messages of hope. "I've not received any negative ones at all. I was just amazed. It's a testament to the richness of our Redding community. I think people in spite of what they went through they are loving. At the core of their being they are kind and compassionate."

Letters can be sent to: Care Net Pregnancy Center, 2460 Athens Avenue, Redding, CA, 96001.