A community is vowing to help rebuild Bedrock, the unofficial center for serenity, inspiration, and music in a mountain area burned in the Holy Fire.
The 22-acre spot high up in the Cleveland National Forest is where Dan Pritchett’s home of 30 years burned in the fire that has been raging since Aug. 6. Pritchett’s was among 18 homes destroyed in the 22,986 acre fire. Forrest Gordon Clark, 51, is accused of starting the fire. He labeled the arson charges against him a “lie” in a court hearing Friday.
Pritchett has received support from the Burning Man enthusiasts, doctors, and artists who have made the pilgrimage to the home of the 61-year-old “Guru on the Mountain.”
They gathered at his “Venue in the Mountains,” under pines and oaks in “The Crater,” a DIY amphitheater that was 72 feet in diameter and 8 feet deep. It had a fire pit and a kitchen that was powered by the sun. The fridge was usually stocked with beer, coconut water and food.
“Dan has inspired all of us,” said Jared Krystyan, a 30-year-old music producer, whose dad died in a car crash when he was 15 and saw Pritchett as a father figure. “He’s always been there. We want to show him the same love that he’s always shown us.”
Pritchett was in San Francisco getting his pilot’s license, but said when he returns to his property on Saturday, he’ll start picking up the pieces.The health physicist is moving an Airstream trailer onto the property, will start producing solar power again and begin the process of rebuilding.
Pritchett lost everything in the fire — a bed frame from the 1800s, a NASA flag that had been in space, 14 hang gliders, experimental laser equipment, couches and chairs, a water tank, solar power that he designed, and chickens.
Krystyan said wrote to folks on Facebook, and sent texts and emails to others to help rebuild.
He’s put up a gofundme page with the hope of raising $100,000.
He’s promised to clean up the site and help rebuild.
Dan’s place was special, he said. It was a fun, loving environment.
“It brings together people from all walks of life,” he said. “Now I’m hoping it can be like a funeral. I’m hoping it will unite us all in a way that we haven’t been united before.”
Ian Stone, 47, a Burning Man enthusiast, said he adopted Pritchett as his dad.
“I call him pops. Whatever he needs from me is his.”
Photo Credit: Alex Vasquez/NBC4
Source: NBC Los Angeles
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