Your Red Cross Update

By Ellis Levinson

When I met Andrea Allman at the Red Cross Community Assistance Center in Santa Rosa this month, I expected to learn how the Tubbs wildfire affected her emotionally. I didn’t expect to learn a personal lesson. Read more

By Mauri Shuler

When Gail Hale was suddenly evacuated from her home this month because of wildfire, she joined hundreds of others at a Red Cross shelter in Santa Rosa. Upon arrival, she found herself still stunned by the fast-moving fires — and the fact that they had resulted in the total loss of her home. “A wonderful woman greeted me, made sure I had a soft blanket, and talked with me; she was great,” Gail recalled. Read more

By Ellis Levinson

As the Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) pulled up at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic church in Calistoga, California, a crowd of mostly women immediately gathered. They were in need of basic items for their families. The truck was their best hope for relief from the financial strains created when the wildfires swept through three counties north of San Francisco this month. Read more

By Ellis Levinson

Rising more than 2,000 feet above Napa Valley, Lokoya Mountain Lodge once stood as a refuge for the well-heeled. The resort burned to the ground in the 1950s. Eventually the remaining cabins gave way to development and 19 homesites sprang up in their place. But because of this month’s Northern California wildfires, those houses followed in the lodge’s path. The wind-driven flames left not a single home standing. Read more

By Mauri Shuler

His Napa Valley ranch house was just yards from the raging fire two weeks ago, and Kelly McDonald says he’s grateful it was miraculously spared.

“We ran out in the middle of the night, and my boots began melting,” he said. Read more