By Shelley Bennett
The Dixie Fire has been burning for almost six weeks. At first, it was a nuisance: our internet went out, then the power, the smoke came in, and ash rained on our cars and lawns. It grew to become life-threatening, destroying towns, our forest and lakes, homes, displacing families and pets, and forcing evacuations on thousands.
Throughout the darkness, there have been some lights that shine through, give us hope, and provide leadership to our communities.
First off, THANK YOU to all the firefighters who have occupied our town for the duration. The Cal-Fire, Forest Service, National Guard and BLM crews, city and county engines from all over the country and globe, private companies, helicopter and plane pilots, heavy equipment operators, and of course our local volunteers. How do we ever repay you?
Juanita Williams and Carla McDonald of the Salvation Army are two that come to mind. Through it all they have anticipated needs and met them.
From pet food to gas cards, snacks and cold drinks, they have organized an army of volunteers to distribute items to evacuees.
Like many, I have turned to social media to get fire updates. Last week, Sheriff Dean Growdon took to Facebook Live to update his community. You could see the exhaustion on his face, but he continued to reassure and caution his friends and neighbors as he sat at his kitchen table.
I cannot imagine what he and Police Chief Ryan Cochran have gone through this summer as they continually protect our county and city while coordinating with countless agencies all over the state. Thank you to all our first responders, from law enforcement officers to health care, Cal Trans and ambulance staff to fire agencies and dispatchers.
One of my former students Melinda Duerksen also kept me in the loop with her updates from husband Forest. He is the fire chief in Westwood and stayed in town to assist with his knowledge of local structures and terrain. I would search for Melinda’s posts because they were concise and factual. It was clear that the citizens of Westwood trust her and I hope she is having a great welcome home celebration now.
Lassen College, the Red Cross, and Lassen County have collaborated to host hundreds of people and pets for almost three weeks. It is a daunting task to provide services for that many people under the best of conditions and they have done an amazing job. Many of them have worked over 40 days on little sleep without a day off.
Last week I saw pallets of new bedding, toiletries, and other supplies being distributed in the lobby of the gym. While Sofia and I (along with volunteers Theresa and Katelyn) distributed meals, we heard many stories from our neighbors in Westwood and Chester. Each one was both heartbreaking and uplifting in the same moment.
When we left, Ronda Hall was cheerfully leading a game of Bingo to a group outside. At first offer, there weren’t many takers, but if you know Ronda, you know she won’t take no for an answer. 😊 They appeared to be having a great time.
Meals have been provided by many groups including the Emergency Disaster Services division of the Salvation Army. Mercy Chefs has been operating out of the Vets Hall since last week. They are a faith-based, non-profit organization that came about when the founder Gary LeBlanc saw firsthand the healing powers of a hot meal during Hurricane Katrina.
There are a group of professional chefs deployed to Susanville with a team from Bethel Ministries and with the aid of many local volunteers, they have made over 900 meals a day for evacuees and local first responders. As I walked into the basement of the Vets Hall, I saw pallets and pallets of non-perishables, to-go containers, aluminum cookware, and other necessities nicely organized in the space.
Poster sized paper lined the wall with daily menus, prep lists, local contacts, and a tally of the meals served. Chef John was working on his laptop and gave me a warm welcome. I was happy to see a familiar face in Joanne Darlington and she introduced to me the other local volunteers: Cathy, Terri, Chelsea, and of course her husband Dennis.
Cathy was busy preparing vanilla icing for the 20 banana cakes she had made and Chelsea helped her spread on the warm topping. Chef Chris put the final touches on the mac and cheese and soon we were ready for dinner service.
Chef John showed us how the evening meal of pulled pork sandwichs, homemade macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and chocolate chip cookies should look in its container and we quickly got to work. Within 30 minutes, we had prepared over three hundred meals including over 20 for those with special dietary needs, including gluten-free, diabetic, and vegetarian.
A group of drivers arrived to distribute the meals and we started the clean-up. When I asked Chef John if he would like anything in “Good Stuff” he simply said, “Thank you.” I was startled at first, what did he have to thank us for? He continued with telling me about the many local people who have helped in the past week and have become part of their team.
As Joanne and I finished cleaning the prep tables and replacing the trash can liners, we talked with Chef Chris. He told us that he has owned a restaurant in Florida for 15 years and has a great management team, so he has been volunteering with Mercy Chefs for the past year. He said that this work is “much more fulfilling” and he enjoys not worrying about food costs and scheduling and instead focuses on creating quality, delicious meals for people who really need it.
I know there are many others who have stepped up to help. I don’t know all the names and circumstances, but thank you for lending a hand to someone in need. As a National Guard soldier told my friend Naomi Crosby, we have “streamlined caring for each other.” It is truly amazing what our community can do.
The Dixie Fire is not out yet. It might be weeks, or months before it is fully contained. We have witnessed great moments of kindness and compassion in the midst of destruction. As our friends and neighbors start to rebuild their lives, homes, businesses, and communities, it is important to continue in that spirit. We definitely need to use this experience as an opportunity to come together and become stronger.
Be kind and look for the good stuff!
Remember when news was ‘newsy’? When you read about weddings, family events and engagement announcements in the newspaper? If you have something that might be newsworthy, please submit it to [email protected] and I’ll do my best to include it here in “The Good Stuff.”
