As the Line Fire in San Bernardino County, the Bridge Fire in San Bernardino and Los Angeles Counties, and the Airport Fire in Orange and Riverside Counties continue burning in Southern California, the American Red Cross is on the ground helping those impacted. These are the stories of those we’re helping: 

Lorena Johnson explains to volunteer Dave Wagner how the Red Cross was able to get her a badly needed wheelchair at the shelter in Fontana, Calif. When she learned of the evacuation order as the Line Fire bore down on her town of Running Springs, she was in a panic. Using a wheelchair because of a traumatic back injury, she had no idea how she would escape the flames. Things got worse when she tried to walk and then fell and sprained her ankle. Luckily, firefighters were able to get to her and she was transported down the mountain to the hospital. 

“When I got to the shelter, I told them I needed a wheelchair, and they had it for me by the next day,” said Johnson. “I’m glad to be mobile and to be able to get around on my own here. They’ve really been accommodating, getting me ice bags for the swelling and letting me take a shower at a time when I’m not in as much pain.” 

Iris Garcia kneels next to Red Crosser Jillian Robertson and looks into a cage of young chickens, just a few of the animals from her grandfather’s farm that are being housed in the large animal shelter in Victorville. She is staying at the Red Cross shelter nearby with her mom, her aunt, and her grandfather. Soft-spoken, she only smiles shyly and nods when asked if she’s comfortable at the Red Cross shelter. Her family evacuated, along with their goats, sheep, chickens, and rabbits, ahead of the Bridge Fire, and check in on them regularly as they wait for evacuation orders to be lifted.  

When Jonathan Fowler and his mother, Hulene Woody, evacuated the Ortega Oaks RV Park and Campground due to the Airport Fire, there were flames in their rearview mirror. Shortly after leaving, they arrived at a Red Cross shelter for assistance and shared that it was Fowler’s birthday and that Woody started chemotherapy for her lung cancer the next morning. They are grateful for the many Red Cross services they have received in the past week, including a walker that was provided to Woody after hers was left behind when they evacuated. Fowler also received birthday wishes when the Red Cross feeding team sang “Happy Birthday” and got him cupcakes to celebrate.

“I couldn’t say enough about how good everyone’s been,” said Woody. “And how attentive everyone has been to everything we have needed,” said Fowler.