The American Red Cross is working around the clock to help those affected by the Hawk Fire which broke out over the weekend near Reno, Nevada, forcing as many as 42,000 people to evacuate.

There are a total of about 90,000 people who have been urged to leave the area. The fire on the outskirts of the city of Reno has already burned more than 15,000 acres on the border of Nevada and California. Officials report there as many as 13,700 residences in the evacuation area.  

Red Cross disaster teams responded immediately, opening a large shelter at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, setting up cots and bringing in shelter supplies to support those forced to leave their neighborhoods. As many as 500 people spent Sunday night at this shelter.

The Red Cross is working closely with partners and officials to ensure help is available where needed. With the fire still not contained, Red Crossers are waiting to support assessing the damage when it is safe to do so.

HOW DO YOU GET READY TO EVACUATE? People should remain vigilant, be prepared to evacuate quickly and leave the area if officials tell them to evacuate.

• Plan in advance where you’ll go, how you’ll get there and where you’ll stay. If you need help leaving or use public transportation, you may need extra time to evacuate.
• Don’t forget your pets. If it’s not safe for you, it’s not safe for them to stay behind.
• Take your emergency go-kit with three days of supplies like food, water and medicine. Include backup batteries and chargers for your devices (phone, CPAP, wheelchair, etc.).
• Follow evacuation routes and don’t try to take shortcuts because they may be blocked.
• Check with loved ones and neighbors to see if they’ve left. You could save a life just by sending a text or making a call.

NEED A SHELTER? You can find shelters by visiting redcross.org, using the free Red Cross Emergency app or by calling 1-800- RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). You can also check with local officials and monitor local news for information on where to get help. Anyone who has been affected is welcome to stop by a shelter for a hot meal, to charge their phone and get other support. We don’t ask for identification, and you don’t have to stay overnight.

WILDFIRE SAFETY A wildfire can spread very quickly, leaving you little time to get to safety. Be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice and obey all instructions from officials.

• If you feel you’re in danger, leave immediately. You might not get an official notice to evacuate.
• Know where you’ll go, how you’ll get there and where you’ll stay. Plan well in advance if you’ll need help leaving or use public transportation.
• If you have a car, ensure the gas tank is full and park it facing the direction of your evacuation route.
• Keep your pets in one room, so you can find them quickly if you need to evacuate.
• Monitor local weather and fires near you.
• Sign up for free emergency alerts from your local government. Stay up to date on evacuation routes and road closures that could impact your plans.
• Limit exposure to smoke and dust. Keep indoor air clean by closing windows and doors to prevent outside smoke from getting in.
• To help keep your indoor air clean, don’t use anything that burns, such as candles, fireplaces and gas stoves.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Families are depending on the Red Cross for assistance right now, and we need your support. Help people affected by disasters like fires, floods and countless other crises by making a donation to Red Cross Disaster Relief. You can donate by visiting redcross.org, calling 1- 800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small, whenever and wherever they occur across the country.

You can also help by becoming a volunteer. Volunteers comprise more than 90% of the Red Cross disaster workforce and make it possible for us to respond every year to an average of about 60,000 disasters in the U.S. — most of which are home fires. After large disasters, the Red Cross first depends on pre-trained volunteers to travel to the disaster zone to help people in need. Those who are interested in getting trained to volunteer should contact their local chapter or visit redcross.org/volunteer.

Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) Through the generosity of our American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Responder members, the American Red Cross is prepared before disaster strikes. ADGP and Disaster Responder members help secure a reliable funding base for disaster relief services that enables the Red Cross to respond immediately, meeting the needs of individuals and families affected by disaster.

Mission Leader Members: Amazon; American Airlines; Bank of America; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; The Coca-Cola Foundation; Costco Wholesale; Dollar General; Ford Philanthropy; Lowe's; State Farm

ADGP Leaders: Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Caterpillar Foundation; Chick-fil-A; CMA CGM Foundation; Delta Air Lines; Enterprise Mobility Foundation; FedEx; Honda; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Mastercard; McDonald’s Corporation; Merck; Nationwide Foundation; PetSmart Charities; The Pfizer Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; Takeda; Truist Foundation; USAA; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; Wells Fargo Foundation

ADGP Members: ALDI; The Allstate Foundation; Altria Group; Aon; Baxter International Foundation; Bread Financial; Capital One; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Danaher Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental; Edison International Foundation; Elevance Health Foundation; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Fox Corporation;  GE Aerospace Foundation; General Motors; Google.org; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Microsoft; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; PayPal; Stryker; Suburban Propane; Target; The Winn-Dixie Company; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Wawa Foundation; Wesco; Wingstop Restaurants; Zoetis Foundation

Disaster Responder Program Members: 3M; 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe Foundation; The AES Corporation; Aflac; Albemarle Corporation; The Allstate Foundation; American Family Insurance; American Water Charitable Foundation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AstraZeneca; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Bath & Body Works; Blue Cross Blue Shield Association; Build-A-Bear Foundation; Canadian National Railway; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; Cisco Systems, Inc. and Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Foundation; CSX; The Deluxe Foundation; DENSO North America Foundation; DHL Supply Chain; DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation; Dollar General; Dollar Tree; Duke Energy; Dutch Bros Coffee; Edward Jones; Eli Lilly and Company Foundation; Enbridge; Equitable ; Erie Insurance; Farmers Insurance®; Fastenal; GEICO Philanthropic Foundation; Grainger; HP Foundation; International Paper; Invitation Homes; John Deere; Johnson & Johnson Foundation; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation ; L'Oréal Groupe; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo ; Liberty Mutual Insurance; LKQ; Macy’s, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Martin Marietta; Masco Corporation; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; Mutual of Omaha Foundation; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Nike Foundation; Norfolk Southern; Northrop Grumman Foundation; Northwestern Mutual; Old Dominion Freight Line; Old Republic; Pacific Life Foundation; PepsiCo Foundation; Phillips 66; Pilot Company; Prudential; QBE Foundation; Qualcomm; Raymond James; RBC Foundation USA; Reckitt; Reynolds American Inc.; RGA Foundation; RTX; Ryder System, Inc.; Salesforce; Santander; Security Finance’s Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Sunbelt Rentals; T-Mobile; Tennant Company; Toyota Tsusho America, Inc.; Uber; U-Haul International; Uber; Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation; US Foods; Westlake Corporation; Yum! Brands; Zurich