‘All That Matters Is We’re Alive’: In California, Hundreds Shelter From Fires

REDDING, Calif. — Beneath thick clouds of smoke from the still-burning Carr Fire nearby, Ashley Myers and her family leaned on their small black Subaru on Monday as they ate a breakfast of biscuits and gravy from paper plates outside the CrossPointe Community Church. The family had been at the church, now a shelter, for three days, after evacuating their home in Redding’s Westwood neighborhood.

They have no idea when they will be able to return home, or if they even still have one.

“All that matters is we’re alive,” said Myers, standing beside her fiancé, Brandon Roades, as their 1-year-old son, Holden, sat quietly in his stroller.

“We’ve just been playing it day by day,” Roades said, still wearing the clothes he had on when the family left home Friday. “We don’t really want to think too far ahead because I think we’ll get discouraged. We’re just hoping for the best.”

They are among the estimated 37,000 people who were forced to evacuate their homes in recent days, many of whom have found temporary refuge in one of the five shelters available in Redding. Others have sought shelter with family members or friends. On Monday, authorities began easing some of the evacuation orders as hundreds of firefighters continued to push back the 104,000-acre blaze, which remained just 23 percent contained. So far, six people have died because of the Carr Fire.

Over the weekend, hundreds of residents crammed into the temporary shelters: families with anxious toddlers, elderly residents with limited medications, displaced homeowners nervous about their properties and people left without privacy or showers.

Inside the converted church, dozens of people sat on cots, where families sleep side-by-side at night. The plumbing in the men’s restroom broke Sunday afternoon, and there were no showers for a time as a result. But those staying at CrossPointe said they were grateful the building was air-conditioned and said they had been given everything they needed.

“They have done so much for us,” said Linda Catalani, 69, who spent Thursday night in a gas station parking lot after evacuating her home.

At the front of the church, hygiene kits, diapers and even crayons for children were stacked on tables, providing small comforts amid the chaos.

Emergency response crews have battled about a dozen active fires around the state in recent days. The six largest fires still active on Monday had burned a combined 240,000 acres, according to CalFire. South of the Carr blaze, two fires in Mendocino County burned about 45,000 acres combined and were each 5 percent contained. And southwest, in Mariposa County, the Ferguson Fire near Yosemite had torn through 56,000 acres Monday and was still just 30 percent contained after weeks of burning.

This year, CalFire and the U.S. Forest Service have responded to about 4,500 fires that have burned nearly 400,000 acres of land in California. According to five-year averages kept by CalFire, the number of fires this year is somewhat higher than previous years, but the average number of acres burned has more than doubled. The state’s firefighters have been spread thin amid a fire season defined by extremely dry conditions and particularly intense blazes.

Three Marion County firefighters who were deployed to the Carr Fire were injured last week. Those injuries, together with several firefighter deaths across the state, could cause significant dips in morale, said Bret McTigue, a battalion chief with the Marin County Fire Department. “Those are the things that really weigh down people’s emotions,” he said.

The Carr Fire moved away from Redding overnight Sunday and Monday morning and is now pushing west, where steep forest terrain has changed its behavior. Over the weekend, crews were dealing with fire tornadoes amid heavy winds; the blaze had grown so large that it was creating its own weather patterns, said Lisa Wilkolak, a public information officer working with the Carr Fire team.

“Earlier in the week we had entire trees that were uprooted, roofs were blown off houses, and the wind was incredibly strong with the fire. It’s very dramatic to see and experience,” she said.

“We want people to remain vigilant. It’s still an active fire but we have a lot of firefighters working on the ground,” Wilkolak said. “But yes, we’re optimistic that we’re making progress.”

Although some evacuations were being lifted near Redding on Monday, the city remained covered in a thick smog that largely obscured the sun. Thin layers of ash accumulated on vehicles overnight, and flecks continued to fall throughout the day, as far as at least 60 miles away.

Catalani evacuated Thursday night after police officers informed her and her neighbors that their homes, in an area just outside Redding, were in a high-risk zone. She left with her landlord, Dan Markham, 83, and two other roommates

Markham said that after so many days in the shelter, he was growing a bit anxious and eager to go home. Catalani was concerned about several of her pets, which she had been unable to evacuate. They both said that they were grateful the ash had subsided and that the heat was tamer Monday, giving them an opportunity to spend a little time outside. The soot on the table from the fires was piled high.

To keep their spirits up, they doted on a pug named Winston, who they said had become the shelter’s “unofficial mascot.” Catalani and Markham praised various aid organizations and lauded the generosity of their fellow Redding neighbors, who have helped with food and clothing donations.

“They’ve been awesome. They’ve just been awesome to us,” Catalani said.