HCRN is active in every phase of disaster, including responding with immediate relief and staying for the long haul to rebuild a community. This couldn’t be highlighted any better than the week of August 15th, when HCRN responded to multiple new fires, and brought in several volunteer teams to continue rebuilding from previous fires. That work and response isn’t possible with out your support.
California is burning at an unheard of rate. As of August 23, 6,685 fires have been recorded and over 1.57 million acres of land have burned. This includes the Dixie Fire which has grown to over 725,000 acres. CalFire has been quite burdened by these fires, however there have not been any fatalities related to this year’s fires. But just because no one has died doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a great amount of loss and displacement for fire survivors.
So what does this sort of devastation look like? At the shelter, it looks like a woman just wanting a shower for the first time in two days. It’s a young man moving his mother’s oxygen tanks and praying they aren’t damaged and cause a greater disaster. It’s a town of 800 residents losing almost every single building and much of their infrastructure. The human cost of these disasters is not measured well in the language of fire response, and that is why HCRN hits the ground as soon as possible. We want to assess the true impact on communities caused by disaster. Right now, we are in the response phase of many fires, and today we will be updating you on just a few of those disasters.
First, we’re going to talk about the Cache Fire that, while small, was incredibly destructive. Our staff have been working with other local organizations to provide survivors with meals, shelter and comfort. You can see a first hand update from Valerie Cox below:
Shortly after, Kevin Cox was able to visit the site of the fire. You can watch his update below:
Last week, evacuees of the Dixie Fire received a wide variety of supplies, including those pictured. HCRN coordinated this delivery with the help of local partners and donors.
One of our board members, Carl Benner, made the trip to California from Indiana to take part in some of our early assessments from the River and Caldor fires. Benner is currently a volunteer firefighter, and has been a first responder for his entire adult life. HCRN’s board has always been active in our work, and it was important for Carl that he see, first hand, what we’re up against here in California. Below is a short video about his experience last week:
Not only were we quite busy in the early response for these fires, but both Happy Camp and Paradise had teams of construction volunteers working all through the week.
In Happy Camp, our friends from UMCOR assisted in installing flooring and cabinetry in a newly remodeled space for future volunteer teams. This project is just getting started, and their work will ensure future teams have much more comfortable accommodations. You can follow this link to see more about our project!
In Paradise, smoke from the Dixie Fire threatened to cut much of our work short. Our volunteers stuck it out and, whenever it was safe to do so, were working hard to get a home framed, a house roofed, and two other properties sided and painted. It was a busy week in Paradise!
There is so much work happening, and there’s more yet to come. Many of these disasters are only in the beginning of what may become a very long recovery, and other aspects of our work are well into the rebuilding phase. Your donation affects fire survivors at every level of their disaster. Thank you for your impact in the lives of so many experiencing their worst days. You can continue Rebuilding Homes and Restoring Lives here.
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