Editor's Note: For this story, information about the Valley Fire was updated on September 15, 2015 at 2 p.m.
The Valley Fire has burned through 67 thousand acres in Northern California. Reno Public Radio’s Anh Gray reports a few Reno non-profits are mobilizing quickly to bring basic supplies to the thousands of people stranded at evacuation centers there.
Authorities report that more than 500 homes have been destroyed by the Valley Fire raging through parts of rural Lake, Napa and Solano counties, about 100 miles north of San Francisco. Many people have had to flee their homes.
“The biggest needs right now are, of course, food and water, but there’s women, baby, and animal supplies, and bedding, cash, and things like emergency, you know flashlights and batteries,” Fran Richardson says.
She runs the food pantry for Valley View Christian Fellowship Church in South Reno. Her organization is working with St. Vincent’s to deliver about 10 thousand pounds of food and other essentials to help evacuees.
“This is just the beginning. If you’ve lost your home, you’re going to need lots of help down the road as well," Richardson says.
More than two thousand people are on the scene now fighting this fire. At least four firefighters have been injured and one woman died in her home.
