Your Red Cross Update

by Kathleen Maclay, Red Cross volunteer

Some 13 pallets of canned water donated by Anheuser-Busch to the Red Cross in its response to the Mendocino Complex wildfires arrived in Middletown on Monday.

Anheuser-Busch sent two truckloads with more than 100,000 cans of clean, safe emergency drinking water to help communities hit by devastating wildfires in California. The water, from the Cartersville Brewery in Georgia, was sent to Ukiah and Redding at the request of the American Red Cross. The water was distributed to the American Red Cross with the help of Eagle Distributing Co. in Ukiah and Foothill Distributing Co. in Redding.

The contribution by the brewer will be shared with clients at shelters and elsewhere in Lake County, where sky-high summertime temperatures are heightening fire danger and amplifying the importance of clean, safe water to stay hydrated and well.

“We are fortunate to be in a position to provide this emergency drinking water to support our friends and neighbors in Northern California during this very difficult time. Providing clean, safe drinking water is the best way we can help during natural disasters, working together with our wholesaler and American Red Cross partners,” Bill Bradley, vice president of Community Affairs, said in a statement.

George Dresnek, the Red Cross lead for logistics for the organization’s response to the River and Ranch fires that combined make up the Mendocino Complex, said the canned water carrying the company logo has proven very popular with area residents after other major disasters.

Last year alone the company provided almost 3 million cans of clean drinking water to areas struck by disasters, including Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.