Tag Archives: Silicon Valley

A Little Fire with a Big Reminder

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By Pooja Klebig, American Red Cross Regional Communications Director

Like many evenings, my husband and I had settled in to catch a few minutes of the nightly news before heading to bed the evening of July 21st. One of the news stories focused on the “Little Fire” burning in the Sunol and Pleasanton area.

As I scrolled through Instagram, I saw updates from friends who lived in the Pleasanton area who had safely evacuated. I found myself hoping the fire would live up to its name and remain small. But as meteorologists talked about increasing winds, I couldn’t help but think about the 2025 wildfires in Los Angeles and how quickly things took a turn.

Just a few minutes later, my husband’s phone buzzed with a notification: a vegetation fire had been reported near South San Jose and Morgan Hill, not far from where we live.

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Silicon Valley Chapter Volunteer of the Year: The Reluctant Honoree

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By: Aarushi Saha, Red Cross Communications Volunteer

Micah and other volunteers responding to a house and duplex fire in San Jose. The team provided immediate support, including comfort kits and teddy bears for the children, to help the family through this difficult time.

“The fire was large enough that you could smell it a mile out. Like driving into it, you could smell it come into the vent of your car. By the time we got there, the house was fully engulfed, and in fact the second story had collapsed onto the first story. It was just chaotic,” recalls Micah Stroud of a house fire he responded to in Cupertino, Calif. a few months ago.

Micah, an American Red Cross volunteer, responds to many house fires in his role but this experience stayed with him the most.

The first resident he met on the scene had previously volunteered with the Red Cross, so she understood that Micah’s team was there to organize emergency housing and financial aid for people displaced by the fire. Her husband had been burned by the fire, and there was more bad news to come.

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Five Shelters. One Week. Dozens of Amazing Red Cross Volunteers. 

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What a busy time for local American Red Cross shelter volunteers! Earlier this year, volunteers in Silicon Valley, Calif., had to set up not one, not two, but FIVE shelters in one week!  

Volunteers aced their test to get staff and supplies to a shelter site on time. Photo by Mike Seeley

It all started on February 26, when the volunteers underwent a test to see if they could set up three shelters simultaneously within a certain timeframe. They had to get enough staff and supplies to three locations to shelter 100 people at each for one night. This annual disaster simulation is part of a national campaign to ensure our communities are prepared for unexpected emergencies. The Silicon Valley volunteers did great and scored 95 percent and higher on all aspects of the test.  

Before they could even celebrate their accomplishment, two days later on February 28, a real emergency occurred. The Fire Department in Santa Clara urgently evacuated an apartment complex due to structural issues and it was deemed unsafe for occupancy. The Red Cross responded immediately and set up a shelter so residents didn’t have to sleep in their cars. 

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Sound The Alarm: 459 Homes Are Now Safer Thanks to Red Cross Volunteers, Local Fire Departments and Community Partners 

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By Quinn Aftab

The American Red Cross is widely known to respond to disasters caused by home fires across the nation – but what about preventative action?

All the tools and assets necessary for a Sound the Alarm event. Photography by: Pooja Klebig | American Red Cross

As part of the Home Fire Campaign, the Red Cross does not only seek to aid communities in home fire recovery, but also in the necessary steps that lead to home fire prevention. By installing free smoke alarms in residential neighborhoods and educating communities about home fire safety, Red Cross chapters ensure a holistic approach to protection is enacted. As of today, the Red Cross, alongside local fire departments and community partners, has installed 1,128 smoke alarms in 459 homes, creating a safer space for 1,502 residents across the Northern Coastal California Region.

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The Heart of a Shelter: Jodi Wallace’s Strategic Lead in the Alaska Typhoon Recovery 

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Jodi Wallace in Alaska after Typhoon Halong

For American Red Cross volunteer Jodi Wallace, the call to deploy to natural disasters is a lifelong mission. Most recently, she was one of the many volunteers that deployed to Alaska to aid the thousands of survivors affected by the destruction of Typhoon Halong last October.  

Referring to herself as a “Katrina baby,” Jodi has been deploying to natural disasters since Hurricane Katrina. When she first heard the call for Red Cross volunteers on the television and radio, she signed up and began her journey assisting in the shelters.  

“I realized that sheltering was really something near and dear to my heart, so I stayed with it. For at least the first 16 years, I predominantly ran shelters as a shelter manager because that is really what I loved and was passionate about,” she said. “For the last four years, I started doing other things, but my favorite is being Mass Care Chief because it keeps me close to sheltering.” 

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The Promise of Blood from Diverse Donors: A Red Crosser’s Emotional Commitment to Saving Lives 

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Dedicated to the memory of Chaznee Brown, blood donor advocate and Sickle Cell Warrior

When Ed Faso was just a baby, his mother suddenly began to hemorrhage and needed more than seven units of blood to survive. His father, serving in the U.S. Navy at the time, asked his commanding officer and about 20 colleagues to donate blood on her behalf. 

Ed (left) chats with Noah James, sickle cell advocate, at the Red Cross blood laboratory in San Leandro

“They got behind my father and my mother. And all U.S. Navy Sailors in his Command donated blood for my mom,” recounts Ed. Growing up with the story of how blood donors saved his mother’s life set the stage for his career as a champion of a strong blood supply. 

Today, as the emerging accounts manager for the American Red Cross in the Northern California Coastal Region, Ed works alongside local community partners to support blood drives—especially those that help diversify our blood donor base. 

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