By Brian Szabelski

As the Lee and Elk fires burned through the mountains outside of Meeker, CO, American Red Cross volunteers sprung into action, setting up a shelter in nearby Craig for those affected by the fires in Rio Blanco County.

One of those volunteers was Myrna Candreia, who knows the experience of those receiving Red Cross help from a wildfire. She lost her home in the 2012 Waldo Canyon fire near Colorado Springs.

“You kind of walk around in a stupor when you lose everything, and I remember going to the nearby shelter,” Myrna said. “I walked into the facility, and one of the first things I remember was the people. They were just always there; I didn’t have to go find them.”

Though she had a place to stay outside of the nearby Red Cross shelter, the fact that she could get help from the volunteers there was a welcome presence. A worn and weathered white Red Cross bucket – once full of donated cleaning supplies and now home to Myrna’s gardening tools – remains as a reminder of the generosity and care she experienced.

“I could find someone there to talk to who I knew cared,” she said about her experience. “For me, it wasn’t about the cot; it was the support and kindness that was offered to me.”

Myrna eventually moved to New Castle in Garfield County, CO, and was looking to get further involved in her community. One of her neighbors at the time was a Red Cross volunteer, sparking the idea that she could give back in kind.

“I never really thought that much about it but then realized, ‘Wow, this is a way to give back,’” Myrna said.

“We are now going through trying times with fire, and so I decided it was time to give back to the Red Cross.”

After working local events like Sound the Alarm, Myrna decided that she wanted to be a volunteer on the ground as the Lee and Elk fires flared up. Myrna was deployed to the shelter in Craig, where she and others from across Colorado helped those affected by the wildfires.

What really stuck with Myrna about her experience, though, was the generosity of her fellow volunteers, in both time and knowledge. She recounted several examples where others volunteering at the shelter volunteered their expertise to help her learn as much as possible about shelter operations.

On the second to last day at the Craig shelter, there was a call asking the shelter manager for an update. Rather than take the call for himself, he put Myrna in the supervisor role for the last few days so she could get the experience she might need to help manage a shelter in the future.

As operations wrapped up in Craig and Myrna was about to redeploy to a government operations role, a fellow volunteer who initially helped set up the shelter even offered Myrna a place to stay for the night so she could rest up before driving back to New Castle.

“That’s the graciousness of the people who volunteer,” Myrna said.

Beyond the volunteers, Myrna noted how the community responded to the volunteer teams. She recounted several times where she went to pick up coffee for her fellow volunteers or after ending a shift, people would see her Red Cross shirt and thank her for her service.

“It gives you a sense of how appreciative people can be in the communities you serve,” Myrna said.

Myrna encourages those considering a volunteer role with the Red Cross to take the next step. “They’ll get a lot more out of it than they could possibly anticipate,” she said.

Visit redcross.org/volunteer to find out how you can support your community.