How You Can Help People Affected by the North Bay Fire

10/12/2017 (Permalink)

Our prime purpose in life is to help others. - Dalai Lama

While dozens of fire crews go from house to house to save lives, killer wildfires continue to menace North Bay California with 26 dead and hundreds missing. The 21 fires currently burning across the northern part of the state have also destroyed more than 3,500 buildings and torched more than 191,000 acres — a collective area nearly the size of New York City. These wildfires collectively are the deadliest in California’s modern history. 

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

• If there is a wildfire in the area, be ready to evacuate on short notice.
• If you see a wildfire and haven't received evacuation orders yet, call 9-1-1. Don't assume that someone else has already called.
• If ordered to evacuate during a wildfire, do it immediately- make sure and tell someone where you are going and when you have arrived.
• If you or someone you are with has been burned, call 9-1-1 or seek help immediately; cool and cover burns to reduce chance of further injury or infection.

HOW TO HELP RIGHT NOW:

• Santa Rosa has currently met its immediate requirement for volunteers, but they ask that people interested in volunteering or donating as-needed sign up with the Red Cross. The Red Cross has a sign-in sheet here. For Sonoma County, you may call 707-573-3399 if you're hoping to volunteer.

• The Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership has also been called in to help. If you wish to donate or volunteer, you can register on their website.

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” ... “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something.