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| Beth Faber Jacobs (l.), and other volunteers serve food to wildfire evacuees on Tuesday at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego,
Calif. Lenny Igneizi |
From far and wide, helpers pour into a fire-stricken San Diego
At least 1,000 volunteers reach out to evacuees; local fire crews get additional backup.
from the October 26, 2007 edition
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At the stadium, where evacuees rested on cots and makeshift beds assembled on sidewalks, students from the University of Kentucky, Hawaii Pacific University, and Utah State University reported for duty. Church groups from Providence, R.I., and Yuma, Ariz., manned information booths and led prayer groups, and a motorcycle club from San Francisco roared into action, moving stacks of food and toiletries.
"I wanted to help because I couldn't do anything during the Katrina hurricane," says Dan Alves of Oakland, Calif., who adds that he had tried to volunteer in New Orleans but was turned away. "It wasn't as well organized. We went out there, but they said we couldn't help. This is a well-oiled machine."
San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, speaking Wednesday at Qualcomm Stadium, praised the volunteers and donors who have reached out to displaced residents. "This is the best of San Diego," he said. "This is where we take care of each other." Experienced medical personnel are still needed at all San Diego County shelters, Mayor Sanders added.
The American Red Cross is training 3,000 volunteers to lend a hand in coming weeks. So much food and water have been donated that officials at the fairgrounds and the stadium stopped accepting them Tuesday, asking for monetary donations instead. The two major evacuation centers are asking volunteers to help at smaller shelters.
Some of the 500,000 evacuees are being allowed to return to their neighborhoods, but others must remain in shelters or with friends until firefighters can contain – and then extinguish – the flames. That effort is unrelenting, and some firefighters at last were getting much-needed rest before returning to the fire lines.
"We sleep when we can, usually on the lawn," said engineer Randy Smith of Sacramento, encamped at Kit Carson Park in Escondido, command center for the Witch Creek fire. "Every time someone new arrives, it gets a little easier. But we all help each other and if this happens to us [in Sacramento] you'll see these same faces. It's what we do."
• Wire services were used in this report.
How to help
1. American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund – 800-HELP-NOW, www.redcross.org/donate/donate.html
2. Los Angeles American Red Cross – 800-435-7669, www.redcrossla.org
3. San Diego American Red Cross – (858) 309-1200, www.sdarc.org/donate/
4. Goodwill Southern California – (888) 4-GOODWILL, www.goodwillsocal.org
5. Orange County American Red Cross – (714) 481-5300, www.oc-redcross.org
6. Los Angeles Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals – 888-SPCA-LA1, www.spcala.com
7. Salvation Army Southern California – (213) 896-9160, www.salvationarmysocal.org
8. San Diego Foundation – (619) 235-2300, www.sdfoundation.org
9. San Diego Food Bank – 866-350-3663, www.sandiegofoodbank.org
Search for volunteer opportunities: Governor's Office of Emergency Services: 800-750-2858, www.californiavolunteers.org
Research the organizations at www.charitynavigator.org, or locate others at www.networkforgood.org
Compiled by Leigh Montgomery1 | Page 2
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