By Brianna Kelly, American Red Cross

When a hazardous materials incident occurred in Garden Grove, Calif., Red Cross volunteers were there to help. On Thursday, May 21, 2026, over 40,000 Orange County residents in Garden Grove and surrounding areas faced evacuation orders due to the potential of a hazardous material spill or explosion. Immediately, the American Red Cross of Orange County mobilized to support those impacted by evacuations.

At the request of emergency management partners, Red Cross workers began opening shelters for those who were displaced, opening a total of eight shelters across seven locations in Orange County in just 24 hours. At these shelters, Red Cross volunteers addressed the most urgent priorities of evacuees, providing for the immediate needs of hundreds of individuals at each shelter location over the course of the Memorial Day weekend and into the following week. Volunteers provided a safe place to stay, warm meals, health services, mental health support and more – even helping to provide co-located pet shelters and other services for evacuees’ pets in coordination with animal care partners.

Over the course of the Red Cross response, over 1,480 people sought refuge in Red Cross shelters, and with partners, the Red Cross served over 28,200 meals and snacks. These efforts were powered by 280 Red Cross workers, including volunteers from Orange County, as well as volunteers who traveled to the area from greater Southern California and even other parts of the United States to provide help – a reminder that disaster relief is truly a team effort. Red Cross volunteers provided around-the-clock support across several areas of disaster response, including logistics, feeding, sheltering, health services, spiritual care, disaster mental health, community partnerships and more.

Community Collaboration

One local volunteer who participated in relief efforts was Laura Nguyen, who serves as a Board Member with the Red Cross of Orange County. During the hazmat incident, she worked with elected officials to share information about Red Cross response efforts. Laura also volunteered at a local shelter, meeting with evacuees and helping to translate for many of the Vietnamese-speaking displaced residents. Laura enjoyed welcoming them to the shelter and showing them to their cots, as well as ensuring they were familiar with the areas where they could find showers, meals and snacks and where to access other essential services within the shelter. She made sure they had their medications, and if necessary, connected them with the appropriate health resources. She also helped distribute warm meals to shelter residents, alongside elected officials and other volunteers and community partners. 

For Laura, it was essential to ensure each person at the shelter felt welcomed, safe and cared for – meeting the moment with both immediate assistance and providing compassionate cultural support. “Most importantly, I tried to reassure the evacuees that the American Red Cross is committed to providing them with a safe place for them and their families. By sharing my own personal experience of how the American Red Cross helped me and my own family in the face of a disaster, I hoped to provide some comfort to the evacuees,” she says. “As a board member, I was able to thank all of the elected officials and the local volunteers for their generous help during this time of need.”

Volunteering with the Red Cross and helping members of her community was both a rewarding and impactful experience for Laura. “Reflecting on the experience, I feel very special, with an enormous sense of pride, to be a part of helping so many people in the community alongside my fellow American Red Cross volunteers. To witness the entire community coming together in a team effort to help one another during a time of need is such a beautiful thing…I am not only proud to be a part of the American Red Cross, but also of the broader community that came out to support their fellow residents.”

Local Red Cross volunteer John Luong supported relief efforts as well, helping with mass care – such as welcoming evacuees and registering them as they checked in at Red Cross shelters. He also supported Red Cross feeding efforts, ensuring that people at shelters had warm meals, snacks and hydration.  

During the response, John found enjoyment in working directly with community members. “We were there to help them, but some of them also ended up helping us,” he said. “For me, it’s important to think about how we engage and work with the community so they can contribute and help support our mission.”

One moment that stood out to John was working with a local banh mi shop owner who generously donated food to the Red Cross to ensure members of the Vietnamese community at the shelter were able to enjoy culturally inclusive food options. “It’s fulfilling to be out in the field and interacting,” says John. “We were able to work with the community to help identify needs and service all the shelters equitably.”

Long time Red Cross volunteer Dan Lam served as both a Shelter Supervisor and a Shelter Manager during the hazmat incident. “As an American Red Cross volunteer, I train to help people when disasters happen, and this was one of those opportunities to serve alongside many local dedicated volunteers. It was rewarding to work with people I had trained with and to see everyone respond with professionalism and compassion,” says Dan.

“I was especially proud to see the Vietnamese community donate meals from local restaurants to feed hundreds of people. At the Los Alamitos shelter, I met an old Red Cross friend who was leading a Team Rubicon crew as they quickly set up more than 100 cots. I also saw CERT volunteers using the Red Cross SCIA registration system to help us efficiently register shelter residents. Seeing so many volunteers and organizations working together filled me with gratitude and reminded me how much we can accomplish when we support one another,” says Dan.

Becky Firey, Executive Director of the Red Cross of Orange County, was also moved by the support of Red Cross volunteers and community partners that fueled response efforts. “Our Red Cross volunteers worked tirelessly to support those impacted by the hazardous materials incident, providing comfort and care to residents forced from their homes. We’re incredibly grateful for their dedication and compassion during this complex response,” she says. “Community members and our partners also played a vital role in response efforts. Their collaboration and support made it possible for us to respond quickly and effectively. This operation has served as a powerful reminder that when our community comes together, we can meet even the most challenging moments with strength and resilience.”

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

Red Cross volunteer Susan Grover served as a Shelter Supervisor during the hazmat incident, with hundreds of community members staying at the shelter location where she was volunteering, at Freedom Hall in Orange County.

“Helping people is what I enjoy doing, especially in a community where people aren't sure about what is going to happen to them day to day. I try to make it known that they are in a safe place and can talk to any volunteer about anything,” says Susan. “It warms my heart when someone compliments me on something I did to make their stay pleasant. You know you are appreciated when your clients don't want to leave the shelter and tell you they will miss you. Being a Shelter Supervisor is an emotional job, and most of the time in a very positive way. I cried every evening on my way home because of something that touched me that day.”

Fellow Red Cross volunteer Kelly Brown served as a Feeding Manager during the response, ensuring community members had access to snacks, hydration and meals served by the Red Cross and partners like World Central Kitchen and local restaurants and food trucks – a true team effort. “With the supportive guidance and encouragement of Red Cross leadership, our team developed a diverse feeding plan that included communication and coordination with each shelter, engaging community partners, and forecasting and reporting meal counts to ensure the timely delivery of meals, hydration and snacks to all shelters...Red Cross teams strategized with local partners to find solutions to delicately balance the outpouring of generosity while protecting the health, safety, privacy and well-being of our shelter residents. As a result of these incredible partnerships, World Central Kitchen, food trucks and restaurants joined hands to provide clients with three hot meals each day to bring comfort to those impacted during a highly emotional and unsettling time”

For Kelly – this meant more than just serving meals. It meant providing a sense of comfort and community during difficult times.

“The chance to serve our new friends in Garden Grove, hear their stories and witness the gathering of neighborly kindness was a profoundly heartwarming experience that moved me to tears and is one of many reasons it was important for me to be a part of a such a beautifully giving organization,” says Kelly. “Working alongside my fellow Red Cross volunteers was a collaboration born out of compassion, not only for those we served, but also for one another. The tremendous efforts of so many dedicated volunteers from our region and beyond, all united in our mission to offer a safe place for evacuated residents to lay their heads, and find comfort and nourishment, left a deeply meaningful impact on me. Knowing that our efforts supported people during the evacuation order, and most importantly that everyone could safely return home, are moments I have humbly grown from and will always hold close to my heart with gratitude.”

Compassion in Action

The Orange County hazardous materials incident is just one of more than 60,000 disasters the Red Cross responds to each year. While each disaster is different, one thing remains the same: when emergencies happen, Red Cross volunteers are there, turning compassion into action for those who need it most.