Red Cross Disaster Response: Wildfire, Hurricane Survivors Tell Their Stories

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Volunteer Dave Wagner and Terri Lyons share a quiet moment with Marble, Lyons one-year-old Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix puppy at the Red Cross shelter at the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds in Victorville, CA. On the day of their evacuation from the fire, Southern California was also hit with a 4.7 magnitude earthquake. Relieved to be in the Red Cross shelter after the back-to-back scares, Lyons said she “is feeling safe and comfy, and Marble is more comfortable here too.” Photo by Sivani Babu / American Red Cross

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At the shelter at the San Bernardino Fairgrounds in Victorville, California, Betty Lisiewski shows volunteer Dave Wagner all that Red Cross nurse Julia Woods and the medical team have done for her since she evacuated her high desert home ahead of the rapidly spreading Bridge Fire. Lisiewski remembered to grab her portable oxygen concentrator as she rushed from her home but left the important oxygen mask and nasal cannula behind. She was provided with the medical equipment that she needed but was most impressed by the grooming supplies she received. “I asked for a rubber band to tie back my hair and just 10 minutes later I had one! I rate the Red Cross above good.” Photo by Sivani Babu / American Red Cross

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Heriberto Garcia evacuated with his family and his animals to the Red Cross shelter in Victorville to stay safe from the advancing Bridge Fire in San Bernardino and Los Angeles Counties. The animals included sheep, goats, rabbits and chickens. His daughters and granddaughter stayed with him in the shelter. Here he loads a crate full of rabbits with the help of Red Crosser Jillian Robertson. He explained in Spanish that he is grateful to have a place to stay, both for his family and for his animals. This goat needs to be milked daily, and the large animal shelter is just a short walk from the shelter where he, his daughters, and his granddaughter are staying. Photo by Dave Wagner / American Red Cross 

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Volunteers Theresa Schneider and Dave Wagner take a walk with Tracey Gayner and her German Shepard, Abbey, at the Red Cross shelter in Fontana, Ca. Her adult son with disabilities and the dog were lost for several days as Gayner evacuated from her home in Running Springs as the Line Fire neared. After five days, she found them. “I found my son lying under the bushes. He was in bad shape. He was barefoot and his feet were all torn up.” Gayner says that when they arrived at the Red Cross shelter, “The nurse took one look at him and said he immediately needed to go to the hospital.” With her son finally in good hands, she then found a spot for Abbey in the shelter kennel. “I am so grateful. You people are great,” she said. Photo by Jaka Vinsek / American Red Cross

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When asked if Hurricane Francine was his first, Lawrence quickly responded: “No, indeed! I’ve seen fifteen or twenty!” But Hurricane Francine did significant damage to his home and left him without power for days, and he found refuge at the American Red Cross disaster shelter in Houma, Louisiana. “These volunteers,” he said, “are making a ‘power move’ to help others. Their help and friendliness give me motivation; makes me want to recover and start all over again.” Photo by Marko Kokic / American Red Cross

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Kerri Harrison, a Navy veteran from Houma, Louisiana, was awaiting transport to the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland for surgery when Hurricane Francine interrupted her plans. When the storm struck, she called 911, but had no place to go. She arrived at the Red Cross disaster shelter in Houma, where she found hot meals, air conditioning to bear the midday heat, and a safe place to sleep. Photo by Marko Kokic / American Red Cross

September 19, 2024

Support Red Cross Disaster Relief. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

As the American Red Cross continues to help people impacted by the southern California wildfires and Hurricane Francine in Louisiana, residents are beginning to recount how these disasters have upended their lives.

HOW YOU CAN HELP Please click, text or call to support Red Cross Disaster Relief and help people affected by disasters like storms and countless other crises. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from disasters big and small.

SON, DOG MISSING Tracey Gayner lives in Running Springs, California, with her adult son with disabilities and his constant companion, a German Shepherd named Abbey. She was ordered to evacuate when the fast-moving Line Fire neared her home and quickly gathered some clothes and supplies. After packing, she went to get her son and Abbey, but they were gone. She ran outside but immediately began choking on the thick smoke. She got in her car and drove up and down the streets of the small town in a desperate search.

With the fire getting closer, Tracey could only hope that they had found refuge somewhere, and she had to make her way down the mountain — still searching. She kept up that search for days, making and posting flyers, checking in with hospitals and the police, even visiting homeless camps. Walking along the railroad tracks on the fifth day, she heard a familiar bark. Abbey poked her head up from some dry bushes and bolted straight towards Tracey.

“Abbey was barking and whining, twisting all around,” she said. “We were so happy to see each other. I found my son lying under the bushes. He was in bad shape. He was barefoot and his feet were all torn up.” Tracey says when they arrived at the Red Cross shelter in Fontana, California, “The nurse took one look at him and said he immediately needed to go to the hospital.” With her son finally in good hands, she then found a spot for Abbey in the shelter kennel. “I am so grateful. You people are great,” she said.

DOUBLE SCARE Terri Lyons and her one-year-old Pomeranian/Chihuahua mix puppy, Marble, took refuge from the Line Fire at the Red Cross shelter at the San Bernardino County Fairgrounds in Victorville, California, after evacuating their home in Big Bear Lake. Moving from San Diego after her husband passed away, Terri bounced from Texas to Las Vegas until she finally landed in the mountain community three years ago.

On the day her neighborhood was evacuated, Southern California was also hit with a 4.7 magnitude earthquake. Relieved to be in the Red Cross shelter after the back-to-back scares, Terri said she “is feeling safe and comfy, and Marble is more comfortable here too. The Red Cross gave us a crate for her to sleep in and I’ve trained her to stay on the cot and not wander off.” Lyons is also grateful for the meals provided — both human and canine. “The food has been amazing,” she said. “I’ve probably gained 10 pounds since I’ve been here.”

NO PLACE TO GO Hurricane Francine was not the first storm Lawrence has been through. “No, indeed! I’ve seen 15 or 20,” he reported. But Francine caused significant damage to his home and left him without power. He found refuge at the Red Cross disaster shelter in Houma, Louisiana.

“I had no place else to go,” he said. “My kids couldn’t take me in — their house was damaged worse than mine. I just felt helpless.” Expressing his feelings for the Red Cross volunteers who are providing a safe place, Lawrence simply described himself as blessed. “These volunteers,” he said, “are making a power move to help others. Their help and friendliness give me motivation, makes me want to recover and start all over again.”

MEDICAL HELP Two people from Houma, Louisiana, found Red Cross health volunteers ready to support them after Hurricane Francine.

Kerri Harrison, a Navy veteran, was awaiting transport to the Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland for surgery when Hurricane Francine interrupted her plans. When the storm struck, she called 911, but had no place to go. She arrived at the Red Cross disaster shelter in Houma, where she found hot meals, air conditioning to bear the midday heat, and a safe place to sleep.

As Francine passed through his hometown, Nathaniel felt something he’d never felt before: a deep compression and pain in his heart. At the hospital he discovered that he’d actually suffered a mild heart attack due to the anxiety from the storm. He was released from the hospital and found refuge at the Red Cross disaster shelter in Houma. “It’s something that’s never happened to me before,” he said. “I guess the excitement and fear just got to me. I’m grateful for these volunteers — they’ve been really good to me, and I feel safe here.”

RED CROSS RESPONSE Hundreds of Red Cross disaster workers are working closely with local officials and community partners in California and Louisiana to provide shelter, food and critical relief supplies to families impacted by these disasters.

Emergency shelters are open and Red Cross disaster teams are circulating through hard hit communities to distribute food and critical relief supplies to people in need. Where possible, Red Cross disaster teams are helping to assess the damage to better understand what support people may need in the weeks to come.

FIND HELP Anyone who needs a safe place to stay or a warm meal can find service information on redcross.org, the free Red Cross Emergency app or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767).

If possible, we encourage people who plan to stay in a shelter to 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.

We do everything we can to accommodate service animals and domesticated pets comfortably in our shelters. Sometimes, depending on the situation, pets may need to be housed in a different location with support from local partners.

Find more information on hurricane and wildfire safety here.

CLIMATE CRISIS Overall, disasters — including wildfires and hurricanes — are becoming more frequent and intense. In response, the Red Cross is providing food, shelter and recovery support on a nearly continual basis.

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, regardless of cost.

ADGP $1M Members: Amazon; American Airlines; Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Bank of America; Caterpillar Foundation; Chobani; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; CMA CGM Foundation; Costco Wholesale; Delta Air Lines; Elevance Health Foundation; Enterprise Mobility Foundation; FedEx; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Lowe's Companies, Inc.; McDonald’s Corporation; Merck; Microsoft; Nationwide Foundation; The Pfizer Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; State Farm; Takeda; Truist Foundation; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; Wells Fargo

ADGP $500k Members: Altria Group; American Express; Aon; Bread Financial; Capital One; Chick-fil-A; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Danaher Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental; DHL Supply Chain; Edison International; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Philanthropy; Fox Corporation; General Motors; Google.org; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; Kaiser Permanente; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Mastercard; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; Paul Davis Restoration; PayPal; PepsiCo Foundation; PetSmart Charities; Salesforce; Southeastern Grocers Gives Foundation & Southeastern Grocers, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie; Stryker; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; The Wawa Foundation; Wesco; Zoetis Foundation

Disaster Responder Members: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe; The AES Corporation; ALDI; American Tire Distributors; American Water Charitable Foundation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Bath & Body Works; Big 5 Sporting Goods; Build-A-Bear Foundation; Canadian National Railway Company; CarMax; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Foundation; The Deluxe Foundation; The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation; Discover; Dollar General; Dollar Tree and Family Dollar; Duke Energy; Erie Insurance; Equitable; FirstEnergy Corporation; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC; Hewlett Packard Enterprise Foundation; HP Foundation; International Paper; Invitation Homes; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; L’Oréal; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo Foundation; LKQ; Macy’s, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Martin Marietta; Masco; Mattress Firm; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; Neiman Marcus Group; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Norfolk Southern; Northrop Grumman Foundation; Northwestern Mutual; Novartis; Old Dominion Freight Line; Pacific Life Foundation; Phillips 66; Prudential; Raymond James; RBC Foundation USA; Reckitt; Reliance, Inc.; Reynolds American Inc.; RTX; Ryder System, Inc.; Santander; Security Finance’s Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Stephen’s Inc.; Tata Consultancy Services; U-Haul International; Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation; U.S. Foods; Yum! Brands; Zurich

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.