Some Valley Fire volunteers critical of Red Cross
CALISTOGA, Calif. (KTVU) -- More than a week after the Valley Fire, local volunteers are still smarting over what they describe as "bullying" from the American Red Cross.
It seemed the volunteers poured into the fairgrounds in Calistoga, as soon as the evacuees arrived.
"Emotionally it was, 'What do you need? What do you want? What can I do for you?'" marveled one fire victim, amazed at how a tent city sleeping almost one thousand sprang up overnight.
"It was literally great to be able to be needed and jump in and be productive for seven, eight hours straight," shared another volunteer, who was busy sorting and distributing donations that arrived by the car and truck load.
"We've in essence built another village inside the village of Calistoga," Mayor Chris Canning told KTVU. "And Calistogans tapped their wallets, their time and their expertise to help their neighbors."
But local organizations that were pitching in as needed and mustering up meals from dawn to dinner found the atmosphere changed when the Red Cross began taking over.
"They told us that we were doing this illegally," volunteer leader Viri Agapoff told KTVU.
She was stunned when Red Cross managers declared no more incoming donations would be accepted, specifying cash only.
"How can I help get these items to the evacuees?" she recalled asking. "And they told me, 'That's not our job.'"
Agapoff and others persisted on their own, marshaling a few hundred volunteers each day. Some had approached the Red Cross booth first.
"They'd been turned away," revealed Agapoff. "And were told that they don't need any help, or told we'll take your name down and we'll give you a call."
Stories of donations and people summarily shunned spread throughout the week on social media.
The prevailing perception was that Red Cross was inflexible in what it would or would not do, even while it solicits majority of monetary donations.
"You've got volunteers here from the area who are stressed out," responded John Brown, Jr., Regional Specialist for the American Red Cross. "Some have families in the disaster, so things can happen."
Brown suggested the criticisms were more emotional, than tangible.
ARC insists its mission is tending to essential needs, and those can be overwhelmed by the expense and responsibility of handling donations.
Plus, it wants its volunteers to have Red Cross training.
"With the safety regulations that we're under, responding to something like this, we have to be careful what we give people in the shelter," Brown explained.
At mid-week, another organization was brought in to broker a truce.
"I don't know that it's a turf battle, but a bit of a communication difference between what they use volunteers for and what we do," clarified Linda Davis of the Center for Volunteer and Non-Profit Leadership.
"Red Cross is very focused on sheltering, and we are taking care of everything else, food, clean-up, donations, organization, everything except sheltering."
Under the CVLN, donations continued to be sorted, organized and stored so they will be available to fire victims when they are resettling and can use them.
Still, it appears some good will and good stuff were squandered.
"The Red Cross was saying we had enough volunteers and enough donated items, and actually turned away some really important people. So that was unfortunate," admitted Davis.
The fire victims, whether they could use the mountain of donations now or not, certainly saw the message behind it, that people cared.
"It's non-stop help!" exclaimed an evacuee whose house was destroyed, "and seeing this really changes our thought process. It gives us hope and takes the edge off."
Calistoga's fairgrounds evacuation center closes on Thursday Sept. 24, as the fire zone has reopened.
Shelters will be continue in Kelseyville, Clearlake, Middletown, and Hidden Valley Lake.
In addition, a local assistance center is located at 21256 Washington Street in Middletown to help residents access resources.
Several churches and service organizations in Lake County are continuing to accept drop-off donations.
Current information on how to donate money or items is posted at the Local Assistance Center at lakecountylac.com.
Volunteers can register through North Coast Opportunities, at nco.org and donations can also be made through that site.
American Red Cross is the government's go-to humanitarian organization in a disaster, but it's been widely criticized for lack of transparency, poor performance and squandering donor funds.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office is encouraging Congress to establish an independent body to examine the aid group's dealings.
In the wake of the Valley Fire, many Napa and Lake County critics are recommending donations be made to locally-based assistance funds so that more money stays in the community.