Could we try to keep this goodwill going?

Disasters bring out the best in us, even in the media. That’s when they do their best reporting, and they are usually professional, thorough and compelling.

We all reach inside and call up our best characters and virtues in times of crisis. In the post on the California wildfires below, I mentioned the relief efforts that started as the news – and need - spread. There are now more stories rolling out about that response.

People are being extraordinary.

Conceived on paper as a safe — if uncomfortable — refuge for thousands of people, Qualcomm Stadium has become in practice a wonderland of surprises…

Stiltwalkers stroll around the grounds waving at gawking children. Food and drink are abundant. Signs hawk free massages, acupuncture treatments and spiritual aide.

This is, after all, California. 

Math tutors — admittedly not a staple of county fairs — are available free of cost.

“This is amazing, what’s going on here,” said Robert Norman, who sought shelter at Qualcomm with his wife and 1-year-old son. “They’ve made it very comfortable.”

The real purpose of this midway, however, becomes apparent only at second glance.

At a booth where one might expect to buy cotton candy, a volunteer pharmacist dispenses aspirin and antacid. Other tents are labeled “Safeco Insurance” and “All State.” Catholic Charities has erected a tent…

Disaster experts say planners sometimes focus on the negative consequences of disasters, such as public panic or rioting, which are rare. And planners rarely focus on the more likely consequences of disaster — massive outpourings of help.