by Holly Robinson
September 16, 2010 5:16 PM
The Witch Creek Fire, one of the southern California wildfires that menaced the San Diego area in 2007, was extinguished three years ago, but fire survivors are still recovering from the loss of their homes. Shortly after the fires, a group of women founded a Witch Creek Fire support and recovery group, called Fired Up Sisters. Fired Up Sisters provides help to area residents who lost their homes to the wildfire. But now Fired Up Sisters needs help too -- it is moving to Ramona, but needs storage space to hold donations.
“We need a public venue,” explained Fired Up Sisters donations coordinator Janice Strizver in today’s Ramona Sentinel. “All we’re looking for is a place to store stuff month to month. We would pay a nominal fee.” The group needs a storage space of 400 to 500 square feet. Wildfire victims will come to the donations storage area regularly to sort through donations and try to find things that they can use as they rebuild and refurnish their homes. Every month the group holds a “Come and Get It” event for fire survivors. After each month’s “Come and Get It” event, the group donates whatever is left to local charities and starts over -- so it has the flexibility to move from one storage space to another at any time.
“We have a team of people who are willing to pick things up,” Strizver told The Sentinel. Fired Up Sisters, she explained, now needs someone who is willing to donate storage space -- or at least rent space at a discount to the group. The Escondido storage space that the group has previously used costs $3000 per month, and the group cannot afford it. “There’s got to be someone with an open heart,” she said.
In addition to the budgetary reasons for its move, Fired Up Sisters chose to move to Ramona because most fire survivors who have not yet rebuilt are from that area. Group members think that they will be able to assist more Ramona residents if they are located closer to them.
The Witch Creek Fire destroyed more than one thousand homes near San Diego. In addition to the damage in the Ramona area, the fires devastated the communities of Del Mar, Pauma Valley, Rancho Santa Fe, parts of southern Escondido, Rancho Bernardo, Del Dios, Poway, Ramona, Lakeside, San Marcos, Rincon, and Wildcat Canyon. The fire also destroyed 175 outbuildings and 239 cars.
Initially, Fired Up Sisters was intended to provide emotional support to fire victims. But it soon became obvious that survivors needed more than emotional support -- they needed economic assistance.
“We started out as mostly an emotional support group,” said founder Renee VanHeel in a May edition of Signs On San Diego, “but then we found out how severely many of us were underinsured.” VanHeel lost her own home in Rancho Bernardo to the fire.
Fired Up Sisters collects donations and keeps them in a warehouse in order to be able to distribute items to needy families. The donations range from building supplies, furniture, and other household items to baskets of nonperishable food and toiletries. Recently, for example, Tempur-Pedic donated thousands of mattresses. Building supplies that are often donated include doors, faucets, sinks, windows, and floor coverings such as tile or carpet. Fired Up Sisters has also arranged for group members to receive discounts from area retailers. Over the past three years, the group has handed out more than $1.5 million in goods and supplies to needy families.
Although it has been three years since the fire, many local families have not yet saved enough money to rebuild their homes. VanHeel herself only managed to rebuild her home a year ago (two years after the fire).
“We’re trying to find people who haven’t started building yet, to let them know that’s what we’re here for,” Strizver commented to Sign On San Diego in May.
To qualify for assistance from Fired Up Sisters, families must provide FEMA numbers.
Sources used:
Brainard, Karen. “Fired Up Sisters looking for new storage area in Ramona.” The Ramona Sentinel. Sept. 16, 2010.
Fired Up Sisters.
Rossi, Nicholas. “Fired Up Sisters was born out of tragedy.” Sign On San Diego. May 15, 2010.
“San Diego wildfires 2007 interactive fire map.” Sign On San Diego.
Tags: witch creek fire, southern california wildfires, san diego wildfires, support and recovery group, fired up sisters, janice strizver, donations storage, come and get it event, wildfire survivors, fire survivors, rebuilding, san diego, escondido, ramona, del mar, pauma valley, rancho santa fe, rancho bernardo, del dios, poway, lakeside, san marcos, rincon, wildcat canyon, emotional support, economic assistance, renee vanheel, tempur-pedic, donations, building supplies, household furnishings, fema
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