January 5, 2018
T he C olumbia P ress
4
Red Cross: Volunteer relays his experiences helping fire victims
Continued from Page 1
on Dec. 5, followed the next
day by a phone call to make
travel arrangements and run
through a lengthy checklist
ensuring his fitness. Two
days later, he was at the Red
Cross temporary regional
headquarters in Camarillo,
along with fellow volunteers
Sue from Beaverton and
David and Judy from Indiana.
They were soon whisked
away to their assignment, the
35-bed Red Cross shelter set
up at Oxnard College.
Beds and personal storage
for evacuees lined the walls of
the campus gymnasium. An
elderly couple came with their
dog, Scrappy, who interacted
with everyone and brought
some light to the otherwise
gloomy situation.
Although the shelter was
west of the blaze, strong
winds blew in so much smoke
that doors and windows were
shut tight while heavy-duty
air scrubbers ran 24/7 in the
center of the floor.
Everts helped manage the
tons of supplies and donations
arriving day and night. He had
free time after each 12-hour
work shift and used it to visit
nearby places remembered
from his childhood growing
up in the same area. Nights
were back at the shelter in
his own sleeping bag, a part
of his personal emergency
“go pack,” originally meant
for deployment to Puerto
Rico.
The
motto
“Be
Prepared” applies to many
circumstances.
By Dec. 13, the Thomas Fire
had burned 273,000 acres,
destroying
neighborhoods
and entire communities. It
generated 60 mph winds,
knocked out power lines,
blew over trees and ripped
roofs from houses, some of
which had not burned.
The devastation patterns
water on the house while the
surrounding neighborhood
burned.
“We really, really tried
as hard as we could,” the
fireman said.
His volunteer deployment
complete, Everts returned
to Astoria just in time for
Christmas.
“I could hardly believe the
generosity of the people of
Ventura County,” he said
of the people he met in his
childhood home area.
Above: A Red Cross volun-
teer at Oxnard College read-
ies items for those evacuated
from areas affected by the
Thomas Fire.
Right: Hand-made sifter
boxes, used for finding valu-
ables in the rubble, were dis-
tributed to those who’d lost
homes to the fire. Encour-
aging slogans are written on
the boxes.
News in brief
Pacific Power
vows to pass tax
cuts to customers
Above, far right: Some of
the donated supplies.
Photos by George Everts
for the Columbia Press
were sometimes bizarre. On
some streets, every home
was burned except one lucky
one. It was just the opposite
on other streets. In one
driveway, a motorcycle was
burned to a hulk while 3 feet
away, a plastic garbage can
was untouched.
Everts, after a week at his
shelter post, was redeployed
to a Disaster Emergency
Supplies
team.
Their
job was to drive through
neighborhoods distributing
free relief supplies to
returning evacuees: blankets,
How to help
Get ready for The Big
One by attending free Red
Cross training, beginning
Jan. 19 at Clatsop Com-
munity College.
For information, call
Caren Black at 503-325-
6886 or get class details
after signing up for a free
student ID at webreg1.
clatsopcc.edu. Enter “Red
Cross” in the schedule
page’s “Course Title” box.
water, food and “sifters,”
handmade by Red Cross
volunteers. The sifters are
for sifting through rubble in
hopes of salvaging something
precious.
Everts’ roving team came
upon an elderly couple
returning to their destroyed
home. As the couple unlocked
their gate, a young fireman
approached with tears in his
eyes. He wanted to apologize
that he and his crew had been
unable to save their home.
Three trucks had sprayed
thousands of gallons of
Changes to the tax code
were passed Dec. 22 that will
lower federal taxes on cor-
porations and Pacific Power
is committed to passing the
benefit on to consumers, the
company wrote in a press re-
lease Wednesday.
“The benefit of this tax cut
should be passed on to our
customers,” said Stefan Bird,
president and chief executive
officer of Pacific Power. “And
we will work with our regula-
tors and stakeholders on the
best way to do that.”
The full impact of the tax
change will take several
months to calculate.
Also, proposed changes to
benefit customers, such as
rate reductions, will require
approval of the state public
utility commission.
It will be several months
before the company can of-
fer proposals on how best to
pass the benefit on.
Class on strong
bones set to begin
Strong Women, Strong
Bones, a five-week program
for midlife and older wom-
en, begins 5:30 p.m. Mon-
day, Jan. 8, in Patriot Hall at
Clatsop Community College,
1651 Lexington Ave., Astoria.
The hourlong sessions as-
sist women in ways to main-
tain muscle mass, strength
and function. There are mats
and weights, but participants
should wear comfortable
clothes, athletic shoes and
bring a water bottle.
Cost is $25. To sign up, call
503-338-7564.