Fire Update - 2nd Anniversary of the Redwood Complex Fire

Fire Update

October 8, 2019

2nd Anniversary of the

Redwood Complex Fire

by Megan Barber Allende

President/Chief Executive Officer, The Community Foundation of Mendocino County

Two years from the date of the devastating Redwood Complex Fire that tore through our rural communities, we awaken to heightened fire conditions. The radio and social media are flooded with talk of the potential PG&E power outage. A warm wind blows and anxiety permeates all conversation.

Thankfully we were able to mark the second anniversary of this catastrophic event with a community wellness dinner over the weekend. It was a special evening dedicated to cultivating the health, resiliency, and well-being of the 125 fire survivors in attendance. Together we broke bread and shared stories of survival and strength, of gratitude and hope. We shared our fears and our futures. The greatest thing we did was to come together as a community to remember and bond and create resiliency

One of the Community Foundation’s roles over the past two years has been to steward the charitable dollars on behalf of our survivors. We took the helm in leading our local recovery group, Mendocino-ROC, to work collaboratively with community partners to support the recovery, rebuilding, and resiliency efforts necessary to get survivors back home. Our day-to-day is often filled with the logistics of long-term recovery efforts: check requests, emails, spreadsheets and lists tracking the comings and goings of every dollar. So it was wonderful to step away from the logistics to visit with survivors over dinner, listen to their stories and songs, and view their art in the Mendocino College Gallery.

Mendocino-ROC has done an incredible amount of work in the past two years. In the immediate aftermath, we made every effort to contact each of the 406 households that lost their homes. We continued to listen and respond, allowing the needs of fire survivors to guide our decision-making process, building the infrastructure we needed along the way. Piece by piece we identified a need, created a grant program, and mailed out checks to buy lumber and beds, power poles and therapy sessions. By leveraging funding with our Mendocino-ROC partners, we have distributed over $4 million to-date. These grants include:

$867,941 in immediate relief to cover basic needs following the fire to assist evacuees and survivors that lost their homes.

· $209,580 in community recovery to support community projects that would nurture resiliency, recovery and a sense of community.

· $240,365 in rental assistance to help renters and home owners become re-housed.

· $406,207 in critical needs grants designed to remove a barrier to stable, safe, long-term housing or work.

· $226,475 in homestretch grants for survivors who have finished rebuilding or moving into a home but still need basic furnishings or appliances.

· $36,409 for seniors and children’s activities to restore a sense of normalcy in the long road to recovery.

· $27,388 to help restore animal habitats which are critical on many of the rural properties lost to the fires.

· $12,335 for individual therapy sessions to support the emotional well-being of fire survivors.

· $20,000 for educators who lost income and educational supplies as a result of the fire.

· $2,159,984 in large housing assistance grants to provide gap funding for rebuilding or purchasing a new home.

· Total distributed to date: $4,206,684

By working collaboratively, we have been fortunate to touch most survivors in their recovery efforts, maximizing our collective resources to enable us to have just under $1 million to support the remaining needs of survivors in the year ahead. Right now it is our intention to exhaust these resources and get everyone home by October 2020.

To help each other recover we must bear witness to the hardships, and sometimes reside together in the pain of forging a new path in life. But we can also hold out the promise of possibility through the resources we create together. The tension in the air on this October afternoon is an important reminder that we all have healing left to do, and the best way we can heal is to support each other as a community.

Donate

Staff :

Megan Barber Allende, CEO/President

Carolyn Welch, CFAO

Neil DiBernardo, Administrative Manager

Michelle Rich, Director of Grants & Programs

Allison Findley, Program Officer

Amy Lutz, Program Associate

Rose Bell, Communications Manager and

Project Manager for Mendocino-ROC

Meet the Board of Directors

The Community Foundation of Mendocino County

204 South Oak Street · Ukiah, CA 95482 · (707) 468-9882