By Jim Burns
Sam and Mickie Orchard are shown inside a Red Cross shelter in Santa Rosa.
Sam and Mickie Orchard had their bags packed on a Sunday night in October, prepared to leave their Santa Rosa home the next day for a vacation in Palm Springs. Instead, shortly after 2 a.m. on that Monday, October 9, the couple took an unplanned trip to a shelter the American Red Cross opened at the Finley Community Center in town. Read more
By Tina Doty, volunteer contributor, American Red Cross (Hawaii)
It was an ordinary trip from Honolulu to our Napa Valley home located on Howell Mountain above a small town named Angwin on Saturday, September 19th. Little did my husband and I know that one of the most destructive wildfires in the area was about to take hold on the other side of the mountain.
I remember looking out my window at the vineyards surrounding our house and noticing the wind had picked up. I got an ominous feeling in the pit of my stomach. By the next morning, my sister-in-law, who lived in Calistoga, called to inform me that many people she knew living in Middletown had lost their homes and beloved pets. Eventually, the number grew to 1,000 homes and over 100 square miles burned.
I hastily made my way to the Red Cross shelter located at the Calistoga fairgrounds to offer my assistance. I was introduced to Pat Morales, a Red Cross Volunteer from the Greater Northern California Chapter, who was amazed I was a Red Cross volunteer from Oahu. He quickly set me up with a Red Cross vest, hat, and t-shirt and put me to work.
As I made my way into the cafeteria, I saw people sitting at tables, some eating, some not, others staring into space, or their heads hung low. One woman was busy nursing her young infant, and children were occupied in a corner with coloring books and related activities. “Gosh”, I thought, “Where do I start?”
I saw people covered in soot, a look of shock, despair, and hopelessness etched upon their faces. Others sat on cots outside with their pets, mostly dogs. Larger animals such as horses and llamas were in a nearby field. Calistoga residents made sure all animals were provided water and food.
I spoke with several people who told horror stories of barely making it out alive with what little belongings or pets they could. Many people only had the clothing on their backs. One man mentioned that he could not start his car because he realized that he was holding his house keys then turned around to see his house burning. He walked out of the area and eventually made it to the shelter. A woman came into the shelter crying and stated, “What do I do now? Everything’s gone!” The Red Cross offered shelter, food, and emotional support.
Other people in the shelter told stories of getting in their vehicles with family members and speeding through fireballs. Many houses were completely destroyed and turned to piles of ash or unrecognizable debris. One woman came up to me at the shelter to tearfully announce that she learned her house was still standing, at least for now. I gave her a big hug.
The residents of Calistoga responded with an outpour of donations which included food, pet food, clothing, and most of all much needed support. Residents from as far away as Marin County responded with various donations including rooms for people and their pets. A notification board was set-up to inform about other resources available.
I realized that that this was my very first large scale community disaster as a Red Cross volunteer. Kudos goes out to the many area fire fighters who are still fighting the blaze. We were lucky that our house was unaffected. Although I was definitely not anticipating this terrible event, I took away from it that even with all the global problems taking place around us, human caring and compassion still rules.
I am very proud to be a Red Cross volunteer.
By Taelor Duckworth, volunteer contributor, American Red Cross
Many folks in the Middletown area know that the United Methodist Church in Middletown was the site of the Red Cross Client Assistance Center for several days. People affected by the Valley fire could go there to find help and resources available from the Red Cross. (It has since moved to the Twin Pine Casino.)
What many don’t know, is that the church has long been a sanctuary for evacuees of any disaster. In fact, in the midst of the Valley fire erupting, the Middletown UMC church bell was used to signal the alarm for townspeople to evacuate. Read more
By Bristel Minsker, volunteer contributor, American Red Cross
When Red Cross volunteer Lynda Holm deployed to Middletown, Calif. to help with the wildfire relief effort, she knew little about what she would be doing there, only that she would be working in mass care. When she arrived, she was given an important assignment that would put her leadership skills as a firefighter into action.
“With hotels around the region full, I was charged with opening and managing the shelter for all the Red Cross volunteers who had come to town to help,” Lynda said. She was given the location and contact information for the would-be shelter: the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Middletown.
This was a new role for Lynda, but when she met with the Church leadership to get things set up her nerves as a first-timer were immediately settled.
“They were so warm, and they welcomed us to their facility with open arms,” she said. “Since the moment we met, they have done everything possible to make us feel comfortable.”
One of the Church elders gave Lynda is personal phone number so that she could call anytime if something in the building needed fixing. She was touched that he would be so accommodating. And then, when the elder came by to help with maintenance one afternoon, Lynda found out that his own son had lost everything in the Valley Fire.
“All he asked is that I share with him the stories of our volunteers on the front lines. The church congregation knows that they are playing an important role by helping those of us who are providing direct services to the community, and it helps them to know that they are a part of that.”
When it came time for their weekly service, Lynda began making arrangements to clear the volunteers and cots out of the sanctuary so that the church could hold their regular service. But instead something surprising and heartening happened. They told Lynda that she didn’t need to clear out.
“They said, ‘We’re going to hold our service outside and have a potluck. When we agreed to host the Red Cross here, every member of the church decided that this would be your home as long as you needed it,’” Lynda recalled.
To return to the kind gesture, Lynda immediately called Red Cross logistics to secure a tent so that they would have plenty of shade for their outdoor service and potluck. It was the very least she could do to return their kindness, she said.
Under Lynda’s stewardship, the ongoing partnership with the Seventh-day Adventist Church community—and the many other strong partnerships like it—has been critical to the safety and comfort of the Red Cross volunteers who have left their daily lives behind to come help on the front lines.
Everyone who plays a role in the response, including those who help the helpers—like Lynda and the church elders—are an important part of helping families impacted by the wildfires get back on their feet.
By Kathleen Maclay, volunteer contributor, American Red Cross
Jim Plank of Kelseyville has been a volunteer with the American Red Cross of the California Northwest chapter for more than 20 years and is a veteran of 13 disaster responses, from Lake Tahoe forest fires to Superstorm Sandy. Even two decades of experience couldn’t prepare him for the challenge that the Valley Fire presented: this time it was personal.
“This one is harder than most, as it is in my backyard and I know a lot of the folks who have lost their homes,” says Plank.
Riding home from a motorcycle outing on Saturday, September 12, he spotted smoke curling up the back side of Cobb Mountain.
“I received the call to set up a shelter in Kelseyville at about 2:30 p.m.,” Plank recalls. “I contacted my core volunteers to start the process.”
Busy setting up the shelter at the Kelseyville Presbyterian Church about 6 p.m. that day, a neighbor notified Plank that his own neighborhood was under an evacuation order.
He says he was too busy to give the news more than a passing thought: “I had packed a bag when I left to set up the shelter, so I was prepared to stay out for a couple of days.”
He was allowed back to his home four days after the outbreak of the state’s third most devastating wildfire in history, but remains hard at work for the Red Cross, currently as logistics lead at the shelter at Grace Kelseyville Church. His son, Jeff Plank of Lower Lake, CA, also is lending a hand, as a general Red Cross volunteer.
“I am still working the disaster relief operation and making new friends,” he says. “I know we’re doing all we can.”
By Jessica Piffero, volunteer contributor, American Red Cross
68 year old Liz Jackson has been living with wildfires her whole life
“I fought my first fire when I was just seven years old living in Australia,” said Liz.
Her noticeable Australian accent makes her stand out, but Liz has been a local Cobb resident for decades. More than a week after the Valley Fire began, she is still under evacuation orders, and may be one of the last residents to return home. Read more
Your Red Cross Update 