Tag Archives: Northern California

More Than a Store: What Community Really Means After Disaster

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Richard and Add Beale were fossil-hunting in the area near Chinese Camp, off the road to Yosemite, about a decade ago when they noticed a ‘for sale’ sign. A few years later they sold their home and packed up their two children and moved to the town where they’ve become community icons.

The American Red Cross could not help communities recover from disasters without the help of community partners. In Chinese Camp, a historic small town outside Sonora that was devastated when a lightning-sparked fire swept through on September 2, 2025, one standout partnership included Richard and Add Beale, owners of the Chinese Camp Store.

Ten years ago, when the Beales first noticed the “for sale” sign on the run-down store and tavern on the road from Sonora to Yosemite, they could not have imagined they would be where they are today: the well-established owners of the store and serving as the Chinese Camp’s recovery hub from wildfires that destroyed 50 of the homes in a community that has only 150 residents.

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