Not for the first time, Grant County residents are grappling with an emergency that tests their resolve and their bootstraps.

The Canyon Creek Complex fires arose last week out of an unfortunately perfect storm of conditions: widespread lightning storms, intense heat, stiff winds and thin firefighting ranks. The cost to the community to date is heart-wrenching. Some 26 homes burned beyond recognition, leaving so many families — our neighbors, relatives and friends — displaced with little or no possessions.

Amid the wreckage, we can take heart that this is a community noted for its caring and resilience. It is proving that with an immediate and growing outpouring of goodwill. Fund-raising efforts are multiplying online to help those left homeless. Local businesses are collecting donations of goods and money. The fairgrounds has set up “shop” to provide free goods for fire victims to help patch them through an unbearably tough time.

People not touched by the fire are looking at their homes and realizing they have much to share: clothing, furnishings, even school supplies for children facing a new school year amid bewildering loss. Individuals are stepping up with everything from pop bottle collections to art auctions, and the credit union has established a plan for a fund that will be locally run and locally targeted to help all the fire victims, without the overhead that marks some large organizations’ efforts.

Animals also are sharing the love: The veterinary clinic and area ranchers have offered hay and pasture for livestock, and animal advocates here and as far as Pendleton and Baker City have offered food and supplies to help displaced pets.

As we write this, the fire continues to flare and spread in the hills outside Canyon City. Across the county, signs are popping up to give thanks to the firefighters risking their lives to battle the blaze. Some of those firefighters and contractors are our neighbors, relatives and friends; they labor even as their own homes and property may be at risk or lost.

As we acknowledge their contributions, there also have been voices of criticism, some of it quite vicious and personal, directed at the fire effort and the agencies facing this threat for us. While frustration and even anger are not surprising responses to such a disaster, we urge people to hold their powder. We can’t undo this fire, no matter how much we wish it were so.

As with any fire, there will be a time for review, but we are still in the thick of this one. And if we are to heal our community, it will not be through recrimination and blame but through our heart and our resilience. Now is the time to work together and respond with positive contributions. Let’s all try to be Grant County strong.