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News from the California Wildfires
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| Disaster volunteer, Linda Shelley, was able to see wildfires about a mile from the La Jolla Indian Reservation where she is working with other American Red Cross volunteers. This photo was taken by a friend with Linda's cell phone. |
October 2007 -- Linda Shelley, one of five Granite Chapter disaster volunteers, is on the scene in California. She recently called Kay Mahoney, the chapter's Emergency Services Assistant, and gave us news from the disaster scene.
During the first two days when Linda was at the large food distribution center at Petco Field in San Diego, about 60 volunteers were serving 11,000 meals each day. The numbers went down in the two following days to 7,600.
She then moved to La Jolla Indian Reservation in northeast San Diego County. There she served snacks and meals to firefighters, many of whom were from New York. Fire crews were so tired that they were falling asleep upright in their chairs, so Red Cross volunteers located some cots for the weary and very grateful fire fighters.
Linda could see an active fire about a mile from the reservation. While she was there two fires, the Witch Fire and the Poomacha Fire, merged. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection as of October 29, the Witch Fire burned 197,990 acres and is now 95% contained. 1,040 homes and 414 outbuildings were destroyed and 239 vehicles were destroyed. There were two civilian fatalities. The Poomacha Fire has burned 49,540 acres so far and is 65% contained. 136 homes and 19 outbuildings have been destroyed.
Linda reported that she feels like she is really making a difference in helping those involved in this disaster. The Red Cross has reported that volunteers on the scene are being fully used, but additional volunteers are not needed at this time.
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