Central California Red Cross readying for harrowing wildfire season

The American Red Cross’ Central California region started preparing for this year’s wildfire season in January, earlier than ever before.

With the Valley in the grips of a ravaging drought, Red Cross officials began recruiting and training volunteers and securing sponsors and grants to cover costs a full seven months before wildfire season normally hits its peak.

“For this year we’ve done the same stuff we’ve done in the past, just kind of to the next level,” said Jessica Piffero, regional director of communications for the Red Cross’ Central California Region. “In recent years, because of the drought, wildfires have gotten a lot worse ... we’ve been responding a lot more frequently.”

During a disaster, the Red Cross provides food, shelter and basic essentials like clothes and toiletries. When dispatched during a disaster, the organization can have an evacuation center open within two hours. If people need to stay overnight, cots are set up and the evacuation center converts into a shelter.

“We have volunteers and supplies strategically placed all over the Valley so if we have an incident we have trailers nearby with stuff like cots and supplies that can be instantly activated,” said Piffero. “Volunteer teams that live in those communities and serve in those communities can immediately respond.”

Valley Red Cross officials responded to 10 wildfires in 2014, more than ever before. According to Katrina Poitras, disaster program manager for American Red Cross Central California Region, 2015 is shaping up to be as bad as last year.

“Just since May of this year we’ve had five evacuation centers that we’ve already opened up and two of those became shelters in two of the counties (Mariposa and Madera),” said Poitras. “This year, for this time of year, we’re keeping pace with last year.”

Poitras pointed not just to the drought but to bark beetles, which feast on drought-weakened trees, as a cause for increased fire danger. Bark beetles have contributed to the deaths of millions of trees in the Sierra and Sequoia national forests. Dead trees help fuel wildfires.

“These problems have created tinder-dry conditions for all fuels across the board,” said Karen Guillemin-Kanawyer, public information officer for Cal Fire in Madera, Mariposa and Merced counties. “Everything is incredibly dry, which contributes to increased fire danger.”

In mid-June, the Sky Fire above Oakhurst and the Corrine Fire in the North Fork area combined to burn 1,420 acres and destroy three structures in the Sierra National Forest.

“We’ve already had kind of a sneak peak into how bad it could be,” said Piffero. “We’re fully anticipating it to be one of the worst wildfire seasons ever.”

Ryan Michaels, public information officer for Cal Fire/Fresno County Fire, said that from January to June 15, some areas of Fresno County have seen a 200% increase in response to wildfires from 2014. He said the Red Cross plays an important role helping during wildfire season.

“They play a pivotal role in helping firefighters and public safety officers to evacuate people and provide shelter in a wildfire situation,” he said. “They fill a void that the fire department can’t cover for families who need help after we leave. They help people return to normalcy and take their first steps forward after a wildfire.”

In addition to dealing with wildfires, the Red Cross has taken steps to address the drought itself, such as having supplies of canned water that can be given to people who don’t have any drinking water.

“We’ve got water kind of stashed all over the Valley so when there’s a need we can pull it and get it out there,” said Piffero.

After the Courtney Fire, which burned 320 acres near Bass Lake last September, destroying 49 structures and injuring four, the Red Cross organized long-term assistance for those affected.

“These people got bombarded with charity and it’s a good thing, but it’s overwhelming to families. So Red Cross was able to put everyone in one building with all the organizations there,” said Piffero. “We grouped them by services and families were able to go up and down the aisles and find who could help them best.”

Pets also need help when fires occur, which is why the Red Cross teamed with the Central California Animal Disaster Team.

The organization was at the Corrine and Sky fires this year and five fires in 2014, including the Courtney Fire. In addition to evacuating dogs and cats from wildfire situations, the disaster team also evacuates larger animals like horses. Frequently, shelters set up by the Central California Animal Disaster Team for smaller animals are located adjacent to those set up by the Red Cross. Larger animals are housed at fairgrounds or rodeo grounds.

For all the help offered by the Red Cross and its partners during wildfire season, a family is its own biggest ally whenever disaster strikes.

“There’s lots of families that come into our shelters with just the clothes on their backs — no food for their pets, no medications, they left their glasses on the nightstand,” said Piffero. “It’s really crucial for families to be prepared for disasters like home fires or wildfires. You never think its going to happen to you, but it happens to families every day.”

This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 12:12 PM with the headline "Central California Red Cross readying for harrowing wildfire season."