Your Red Cross Update

By Barbara Wood

Blanca Harnwell came to the American Red Cross shelter at the Finley Community Center in Santa Rosa on October 12 because she needed a change of clothes. Almost all of her belongings had been lost in the wildfire that leveled her Santa Rosa home a few days earlier. Blanca, a 46-year resident of Sonoma County, was able to find a pair of jeans and some capris that fit. In the disarrayed piles of clothing that had been donated by a generous community, she found something more: a volunteer job that allowed her to take her mind off her personal woes while she helped others. Read more

By Barbara Wood

Three generations of Christil Bell’s family, five people in all, and their pit bull mix Bully had been living in their recreational vehicle in the parking lot of the Finley Community Center in Santa Rosa for three days when American Red Cross volunteer Laura Hovden came knocking on their door. Read more

By Mauri Shuler

When the town of Calistoga was evacuated, Jose left in the predawn hours with his family to escape the flames; he desperately tried to think of a place to go where his family would be safe. Jose had plenty to worry about, as he is undocumented. He has worked in California for 40 years, and has three daughters born in the United States. Safety from the fire was primary, but he also worried about staying safe from immigration authorities. Read more

By Karine Duetsch

Photo by Marko Kokic, Red Cross Shelter at Sonoma Fairgrounds, Santa Rosa, CA

Maddy Thoreson is a special-needs teacher for the Sonoma County School District where classes have been suspended since the Tubbs Fire broke out and threatened most of Santa Rosa six days ago. She knew she wanted to help those affected by the fire and became a Red Cross volunteer last Tuesday, October 10. She may have only been a Red Cross volunteer for a week, but to the residents of the pet-friendly hall at the Sonoma Fairgrounds shelter, she is an old friend by now. Maddy walks the rows of cots and kennels, checking in on everyone by name, pet and human alike. Read more

By Mauri Shuler

(Photo by Frank Schulenburg)

Bill Hahn, 84, brought his wife, Patsy, home from the hospital to their home in Calistoga on Tuesday night before the fires came. Patsy, who had fallen, was released with bruises and a neck brace. They went to sleep and then were awakened by banging on the door at 1 a.m. They were told to evacuate immediately. Read more