Camp Fire: Many evacuees remain at Chico Walmart, despite rain forecast
But despite efforts to get
"With my stressors, it'd be difficult to move," said Paradise resident
Hood trailed off, clutching her 11-year-old chihuahua, Maggie, "I'd rather sleep in my car," she said.
An ad hoc group of volunteers came together in the immediate wake of the fire to begin doling out food to fire evacuees who found themselves clustering in the lot. Since then, the makeshift evacuation center has grown, with estimates of several hundred people at one point. Some of those initial volunteers are now trying to help people transition to other more formal shelters.
It's not always easy to convince people to leave, said
Others didn't want to travel to the
"It's tough. It's kind of like pulling teeth," he said. "A lot of them are at the bottom of the social demographic. They're a little more rebellious. They're independent. So that's why they're cool here."
The
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Rumors had been swirling that the
"We're still very much in the thick of it," Shaw said. "This is a very large response, and there is a very big need."
And, for at least the time being, volunteers are sticking by to help evacuees at the Walmart parking lot, too.
"Do you see anyone from Walmart kicking anyone out of here? No," she said, adding that as long as help is needed, she and other volunteers would be working to make sure they got the help and resources they need.
Clothing and some other donations have been moved, though, with volunteers shuttling everything that wasn't food, water or medical supplies a half mile up the road to the shuttered Toys R Us.
Since at least Monday afternoon, another ad hoc coalition of organizations and volunteers has been bringing clothing, tents, sleeping bags, toiletries and other supplies to the parking lot in front of the vacant storefront. It started as just a pile of clothes and a table, said volunteer
A number of Christian ministries have been helping sort the donations and categorize them, Anderson said. And, on Sunday, the volunteers began moving the clothing, bedding, shoes and other supplies inside the vacant Toys R Us. The volunteers, in coordination with the county, were able to get permission to use the store as a new distribution center -- one that won't be exposed to the elements.
The idea is for the so-called Miracle City Recovery Center to provide ongoing support to displaced residents as they continue to search for permanent shelter, said
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Serving as a paramedic hardened him to the types of destruction and devastation that wreaked havoc in
"There are times when the glue melts," he said, pausing for a moment as tears reddened the rims of his eyes. Gibbs took a deep breath. He clenched his jaw. "And then it settles back up again."
Turning toward a group of volunteers loading supplies into the back of the store, he called out, "You guys need any help here?"
Chico Enterprise-Record staff writer
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