UPDATE: Money, gift cards needed for Camp Fire evacuees; here's what's still needed

Redding

Destiniey Vaughn is comforted by her husband Ryan Vaughn as the two sit in their tent next to the Walmart in Chico, CA, Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018. The pair lost their home to the Camp Fire and have started their paperwork with FEMA and are hoping to find a more permanent situation for them and their 7-month-old son.

Camp Fire evacuations centers and donation centers are filling up with more than displaced people.

Center representatives say used and unusable items are taking up valuable space and volunteer time. They’re asking donors to send monetary donations and gift cards to local stores.

(Scroll down for updated lists of needs.)

Camp Fire evacuation centers are getting a lot of things they don’t need, especially used items, said Stephanie Hayden, founder of the Hope Center at 1950 Kitrick Ave. in Oroville, which gathers donations for centers in and south of Oroville. “There’s no place to put them.”

Hayden said she understands people want to help, but unusable items take valuable time to sort.

Shelter staff may have trouble getting rid of unusable items, she said. Garbage pick-up services may be spotty close to fires, so items pile up. Rodents and other health risks can result.

“These evacuees are staying in very small spaces together,” Hayden said. “If you bundle up a lot of used items, it’s not hygienic for people who are staying in congested spaces.”

While new packaged items can be distributed immediately, sorting and washing used items requires a lot of staff hours.

“We have buildings full of stuff,” said Kathy Ingvoldsen, business associate at the Butte County Fairgrounds. “In four hours we (fairgrounds evacuation center) filled up a 5,000-square-foot building full of clothes. They’re stacked up on tables five feet high.”

Evacuees, especially those whose homes burned, don’t have anywhere to put the donated items.

She's also overwhelmed with donations of hay and feed for the more than 150 horses, 150 sheep and goats and other farm animals at this time, said Ingvoldsen.

It's not new to see these influxes of well-meaning but useless donations.

About 1 or 2 percent of donations received during 2017 fire evacuations were usable, said Russ Brown, public information officer for Yuba County of the evacuation center at the Yuba-Sutter Fair grounds. Now the same thing is happening again.

“Our community is responding like crazy,” said Brown, who’s grateful people care so much. “When we asked for pillows we got hundreds of them.”

Space to store unwanted items is in short supply as staff scramble to prepare new areas for displaced people, livestock and pets.

“We started out with about seven people Thursday night,” Brown said. “As of this (Sunday) morning, we have 325 and they’re still coming in. We’re making room for more.”

Ingvoldsen thinks people send used items because they feel so powerless and want to help.

“Our community is amazing,” she said.

Centers also have plenty of volunteers — for now. Ingvoldsen worries what will happen in a week or more.

“Please just keep checking back with us as people go back to work. We may need help,” she said.

Jazmin Hamburg, left, sits in the cab of a pick-up truck to stay warm with her two sons Aiden, 10 months, center and her older son Lucas, 4, in the tent compound next to the Walmart in Chico, CA. The parking lot and field next to it have become a refuge for evacuees of the Camp Fire which devastated Paradise. Officials are closing the area on Sunday and working to find a more sustainable housing solution for those affected by the fire.

Money, gift cards desperately needed

Evacuation center supervisors say there’s great need for new items, and for items specific to individuals. All are asking people to send cash donations and gift cards for now.

Brown asked for “restaurant cards and Target (gift cards) so people can get clothes and toiletries, things they specifically need.”

There’s a serious need for gas cards, Brown said. Evacuees may roll into the center on their last drop of gas.

“Shell stations, Chevrons, we have them all very close by,” he said.

Hayden added to the list:

“We have Raley’s, Food Maxx, Super Walmart and Grocery Outlet,” Hayden said. “Gas cards, fast food cards, even drugstore cards like Walgreens, Rite-Aid, CVS” are really helpful.

When donors send gift cards, they usually think about larger chain stores, Hayden said. Big stores may run out of supplies like small toiletries while smaller store shelves are full.

“We have Dollar General, Dollar Tree and Big Lots,” she said. “These other little stores are just packed with what people need.”

The most practical gift card people can give is a Visa gift card, Hayden said.

That's a statement echoed by relief staff at evacuation centers contacted, and by those hosting drives and donation drop-off points in Shasta County.

"...the best way to donate is through monetary donations online, or through gift cards," said Assemblyman Brian Dahle, in a Facebook post dated Nov. 11, before he hosted a Camp Fire relief drive on Tuesday at his district office in Redding.. "This way those affected can get exactly what they need."

Daryl Merritt, 55, of Paradise, watches as volunteer Hailey Adams, 13, hands out hamburgers at a tent compound in a field next to the Walmart in Chico, CA, Wednesday, November 14, 2018. Merritt has no idea if his home survived the Camp Fire but is making the best of things with new friends and neighbors.

Some items still needed

There are still a few items donors can send, used or otherwise.

“Material objects needed are backpacks and duffle bags (and) luggage,” Hayden said. “We need new (with tags and packaging) undergarments for all ages and genders. Our greatest need is for women’s undergarments.”

Volunteers for human evacuees and professional support like therapists and nurses are plentiful at his center, Brown said, but he needs volunteers and donations for displaced animals.

“We’ve put out a call for pet food,” Brown said. “Litter is needed also, and livestock feed.”

Some centers also need volunteers to walk and care for pets, change litter boxes and clean pens.

Cindy De Lano, of Paradise, sorts through donated clothing trying to find some items for her and her family to keep warm November 14, 2018. With minutes to evacuate, she left with the clothes on her back.

Updated: Here’s how to help

The Salvation Army is opening a distribution center 10:00 a.m. Tuesday at 1100 Marauder Street in Chico. The organization only accepts brand new items and also needs donations of money and gift cards, including to local stores and gas retailers. Supplies that are needed include:

New underwear and socks
New blankets and pillows
Cleaning supplies
Diapers and baby wipes
Non-perishable foods
Frozen turkeys
New toys for Christmas

The distribution site will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Call 530-776-1009 for information. For large donations, call to set up a drop-off time.

Pleasant Valley Baptist Church: The church at 13539 Garner Lane in Chico is taking monetary donations from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., but no longer needs item donations. The church posts items needed Over the weekend, the church posted a message on its website at https://www.pvbaptist.org/campfire saying, "We have received so many donations that at this moment we are no longer accepting donations at this time." Monetary donations are still accepted. Current needs are:

Visa gift cards
Gas and food gift cards
Store gift cards

Call 343-0555. Specify that you want your donation to go to "Camp Fire" and go to the church in person or donate online at https://www.pvbaptist.org/campfire

Butte County Fair grounds: Gift cards are needed for evacuees to pay vet bills and replace items lost in the fire.

Visa cards
Gas cards
Gift cards to grocery stores
Gift cards to restaurants and clothing stores

Drop off or mail gift cards and monetary donations to the fairgrounds at 199 East Hazel St. in Gridley. Call 530-846-3626 for more information.

Neighborhood Church of Chico: Needs at this evacuation center include:

Monetary donations
Visa gift cards
Gift cards to Target, Home Depot, Lowes and grocery stores
Gas gift cards
Sani-Cloth germicidal disposable wipes
Nitrile gloves.
Large (45-gallon or larger) trash bags

The church accepts mail and drop off donations at: Evacuation Shelters, Neighborhood Church of Chico, 2801 Notre Dame Blvd. in Chico, California 95928. Call 530-343-6006. Go to http://www.ncchico.org/camp-fire-information/

Oroville Hope Center: This facility provides for several area Red Cross evacuation sites. The center doesn't need any more clothing at this time, but it probably will at some point, said volunteer David England. The center's current list of needs includes:

Monetary donations
Visa and gift cards
Smoke masks
Men's shoes, new socks and warm clothing
Large tents
Warm gloves
Children's shoes
New children's underwear
New womens underwear and bras
New hair brushes and hair ties
Hygiene products
Non-latex gloves
Air mattresses
New sleeping bags
New pillows and heavy blankets
New towels
Ready-to-eat meals such as soup, chili and granola bars, as well as non-perishable beverages.
Volunteers (Go to 1950 Kitrick Ave. in Oroville to volunteer. You may be sent to one of the center's outposts to help process donations.)

To mail donations send to Oroville Hope Center, 1950 Kitrick Ave A, Oroville, California 95966. Drop off donations 8 a..m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday at 2850 Feather River Blvd. in Oroville. Call 538-8398. Donate money at https://www.orovillehopecenter.org/

Yuba-Sutter Fair grounds evacuation center: Donations are needed for evacuated people and animals. These include:

Monetary donations
Visa and gift cards
Gas cards
New pet food
Cat litter
Livestock feed

Bring donations to the Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds at 442 Franklin Ave. in Yuba City, California 95991; call 530-812-3815 or donate online on the Yuba County Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/YubaCounty/ Donations can also be sent or dropped off at the Habitat for Humanity Yuba/Sutter ReStore at 202 D St. in Marysville, California 95901

The William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, U.C. Davis: This hospital needs monetary donations to help care for animals injured in the Camp Fire. All of the hospitals patients covered by this fund at Camp Fire refugees. It currently has more than 30 cats and other animals including horses, pigs and goats getting care for burns and other injuries. Call 752-7024 and leave a message or go to https://give.ucdavis.edu/VMTH/V6TH631 to give to the fund.

A stray horse munches on grass as a Rocklin police officer watches over it. Those pets, farm animals and wildlife have been displaced by the Camp Fire's advance.

More Camp Fire and other news:

More:UPDATED: Camp Fire containment grows to 66 percent with rain in the forecast

More:'How do you grieve for a whole town?' Paradise residents seek healing at Camp Fire vigil

More:UPDATE: Camp Fire evacuees told to leave Walmart refuge as weather worsens

More:Trump's visit at Camp Fire devastation brings support, criticism after his tweets

More:Camp Fire deaths rise to 77 as crews manage slight growth in containment

More:Three separate fires break out overnight in south Redding

More:Yes, Old Shasta, there is an 'Old Time Holiday' for you this year