Fires and Tornadoes: Red Cross Latest

The info you need from Red Cross:

As of this morning 43 of the 53 counties in California are under red flag warnings. Hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated and as many as 1 million people are without power. I hope you, your friends and family, employees, and customers are safe. Please see the links below for important safety, shelter, and reunification information that you are welcome/encouraged to push out to anyone that might benefit from them. And just below the following notes is today’s Red Cross Disaster Information Update on both the CA Wildfires and Southern Tornadoes & Floods.

Wildfires Situational Overview:

• There are over 15 active fires throughout the state of California with the newest one – the Getty Fire – igniting today in Los Angeles County.
• The Kincade Fire remains a level 3 operation (see below) and has grown to over 66,000 acres with 5% containment.
• There is an updated story on redcross.org: Wildfires: Thousands Flee to Shelters.
• The Red Cross continues to focus on providing safe refuge at evacuation shelters, meals and snacks, and health and mental health services. Given another round of dangerous winds are expected Tuesday into Thursday, this situation could continue to escalate.

• More than 3,000 people stayed in 14 Red Cross and community shelters in California on Sunday night and it is my understanding that we are opening 7 more shelters today. Working with partners, the Red Cross is providing shelter, meals and snacks, relief supplies, health services such as replacing lost medications and eyeglasses, emotional support, and spiritual care. Anyone is welcome at Red Cross shelters, including those with service animals. You do not need to spend the night to access Red Cross services.
• If someone is in an area where the power is off, they can follow Red Cross safety steps found here.
• Find open Red Cross shelters at www.redcross.org/shelters or by downloading the free Red Cross Emergency App. If heading to a shelter, people should bring prescription medications, extra clothing, pillows, blankets, hygiene supplies, other comfort items and important documents. Don’t forget to bring any special items for children, such as diapers, formula and toys, or for family members who have unique needs.
• Download the Red Cross First Aid App for information on handling the most common first aid emergencies. Download these apps for free by searching for ‘American Red Cross’ in your app store or at redcross.org/apps.
• Visit the Red Cross Safe and Well website to reconnect with loved ones. The site allows individuals and organizations to register and post messages to indicate that they are safe or to search for loved ones. The site is always available, open to the public and available in Spanish. Registrations and searches can be done directly on the website. Registrations can also be completed by texting SAFE to 78876. You can also use the “I’m Safe” feature of the Red Cross Emergency App to let loved ones know your status.

These wildfires are following the past few weeks of severe weather across the country in the wake of the Southern Tornadoes and Floods (note, both the Tennessee and Texas tornado operations recently elevated to Level 4 events).

Right now, we are in frontline response mode now across California, so as you can imagine it is a very fluid situation. Please text/call me at 503-407-8911 or email me if you need anything immediately.

In response to all of these disasters happening right now, we are asking the public/partners for donations for Disaster Relief. There is a very strong likelihood that in the next 12-24 hours a California Wildfires designation will also be opened. But Disaster Relief allows us the greatest flexibility to respond to all disasters when and where they happen.