Helping out during the fire

Well, that scary four letter word caused quite a stir this week. I'm talking about FIRE - specifically the Walker or Larson fire that began last week with a lightning strike. It was fairly well contained until those strong winds started up Monday afternoon. As a result, the residents in the base housing for Marine Corps' Mountain Warfare Training Center located in Coleville, Calif., were evacuated and sent north to Topaz Lodge while the residents along Larson Lane and Cunningham Lane went south to the Walker Community Center.

As Disaster Action Team leader with the Northern Nevada Chapter of the American Red Cross, we were tasked with opening a shelter in the Topaz Lodge Convention Center. It was the first time our newly formed team of volunteers was able to work together in the field. What a great team we have. Of course there were the expected miscommunications of information sifting down to our level along with delays in the arrival of supplies and food and confusion in chaos; but we were able to keep the families in one central location and provide them with some much needed emotional support and supplies as well as entertainment. Marines and their families operate as a "well oiled machine" so that made our job much easier. Hoo-rah!

The generosity of the community showed up almost immediately as donations started pouring in - how do they get the information so fast? The Douglas County Democrats, Gardnerville Raley's, Antelope Valley Methodist Church, Pacific Gasoline/FoodMart in Gardnerville, and Station 5 - Topaz Fire Department (John and Lucy Wise) provided food and beverages which were greatly appreciated. Kudos to each of you. We were able to also send food and water out to the firefighters on the line.

It was the first shelter opening that many of the volunteers had participated in and their cooperation and willingness to go with the flow was very encouraging. Thank you to Anne Harris, Diane Carroll, Don Jackson, Todd Jezek, Teresa Dominy, Barbara Hansen and Yvonne Liddell for a job well done. A team from Hawthorne and Reno took over the following morning and Kellie Hopkins, the Disaster Action Team leader for Lyon and Storey counties helped with the shelter setup.

We are having additional training on June 23 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The family services class provides the background and procedures for interviewing the clients as well as confidentiality issues. The Disaster Action Team covers all of Douglas County so anyone in the county interested in helping is welcome. For the most part, we provide assistance in the form of shelter, food and clothing to those affected by single family fires; but as we have seen this week, that can also expand to opening a shelter for a larger disaster incident. My goal for our area is to have trained volunteers ready to help when the call comes in. And since they don't like for us to be on for more than 12 hours at a time, there is a need for many more volunteers. Although the situation is a serious one, we find the time to have fun along the way.

You are invited to the monthly Red Cross meeting on June 11 at 6 p.m. at the fire station on Stewart Street, just south of 5th Street, in Carson City. If you are interested in joining our team, please contact me at the phone number and e-mail listed below. I am happy to answer any questions you may have. If you prefer to donate money, the chapter's address is 1190 Corporate Blvd., Reno, NV 89502. All donations received locally stay local. Remember the Waterfall fire in Carson City a few years ago? The donations received as a result of the outpouring of generosity from the community allowed the chapter to purchase and stock three 6-by-12-foot trailers with the basic supplies necessary to open a shelter for 100 people. The Douglas County trailer is kept in the parking lot at the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.

Have a ramblin' good week and beware of fire dangers.

-- To reach Gail Davis, e-mail RuhenstrothRamblings@yahoo.com or call 265-1947.