North Bay fires gave board chair a new appreciation for the Red Cross
By Mauri Shuler
Fire and other natural disasters do not discriminate; they have the potential to destroy everything in their path. Wealthy or poor, black or white, Christian or Muslim — disasters do not discriminate. For many at the Red Cross, the North Bay fires this month hit very close to home, with Red Crossers being among the many people affected. Read more

Tom Freitas, a senior citizen, and his stepson, Mark Johnson, refer to each other as father and son. Mark said he brought his father to the Sonoma County Red Cross Service Center this morning because “The Red Cross can provide us help.”
Jamie Rosales lives in Oakmont, one of the Santa Rosa neighborhoods devastated by the wildfires. His neighbor woke him up at 1 a.m. Monday. They were told to leave and found a Red Cross shelter through word-of-mouth.