Townsfolk reach out to those whose lives lie in ashes.

Kaylee Hazelton, 16-months-old, sits with her grandfather, Terry Quinn, as his wife Susan Quinn watches TV news in their Value Inn hotel room after fleeing the Angora fire in South Lake Tahoe, California on Monday. Sacramento Bee/Paul Kitagaki Jr.


SOUTH LAKE TAHOE -- Marge Harts, a white-haired Red Cross volunteer, stood at the front door of the recreation center Monday morning with a yellow legal pad, trying to get a handle on a list of names that grew by the minute.

That list told its own kind of story, even as the massive wildfire that erupted Sunday continued to smolder and all the sad tales of ravaged homes and broken dreams spread among friends and neighbors.

In this tight-knit town with the spectacular views known the world over, people who didn't lose their homes knew others who did, and all they wanted to do was lend a hand.

So they jotted down their names and numbers and said they'd be ready at a moment's notice. They arrived with armfuls of blankets and boxes of shoes and grocery bags stuffed with clothes. They offered room in their homes. They took in lost pets. Restaurants handed out meals and poured free coffee.

On and on it went. South Lake Tahoe was two different towns Monday -- one trying to continue business as normal and the other that dropped everything to help those in need.

"This is the time," said Harts, wearing an oversized Red Cross vest, "when everybody drops their pettiness and we find out what's really important."

"It kind of renews my spirit in people," said Jerry DeLemos, 54, who lost his house in the fire.

Though the Red Cross did not solicit donations, the agency was already struggling to organize the outpouring of goods people dropped off.

Jamie Morris, a 17-year-old volunteer who graduated from high school a week ago, spent part of her morning sorting clothes and other necessities into piles on folding tables.

"You can't do anything about what happened, but you can do something to help people," said Morris. "It's amazing to see our whole town come together."

Susan Cook was watching her daughter's soccer game 20 miles from home Sunday when cell phones started ringing in an ominous chorus. Just then, everyone saw the first plume of smoke forming in the distance.

"Everybody just took off," said Cook, 41. "We've lived here our whole lives."

When Cook learned her family's home was not in the fire's path, she immediately thought of all the friends who weren't so lucky.

"We have numerous friends who lost homes," she said, her eyes welling up.

She and her two daughters, along with a family friend, arrived at the recreation center with boxes of clothes.

"It's a helpless feeling. You start going by instinct and you take care of people any way you can," Cook said.

Several hotels in town offered free rooms to those who lost homes or were forced to evacuate. James Moore, 19, volunteered to take down names and coordinate with people who needed a place to stay. He said 15 hotels and several private residences have been opened to people in need.

"It just shows our community is one big family, and that at a time like this everybody is equal," he said.

At the Value Inn, 18 of the 63 rooms were occupied Monday by displaced residents. The inn waived the regular rates of $48 to $78 a night.

A visit to the inn Monday found Lisa Brasfield taking shelter. She had been awakened at 4 a.m. Monday and had been told her apartment was under mandatory evacuation.

"It's funny, you learn what's important to you. I just grabbed my birth certificate, a couple of photos and some clothes," she said.

"I'm surprised and amazed," she said. "Everybody is just pulling together so awesomely."

Jerry Godbey, an unemployed construction worker, showed up at the Value Inn to volunteer to clean rooms.

"People are losing their homes. They're not going to want to come back to dirty rooms," he said. "It breaks my heart to see people who have worked their whole lives and have lost everything."

Sierra Veterinary Hospital was offering free boarding to pets and already had rooms full of everything from ferrets and parrots to cats, dogs and fish. Out back, 13 volunteers with the animal rescue group Noah's Wish, which specializes in disaster situations, were setting up temporary kennels to handle the overflow.

"I didn't even clock in," receptionist Sarah DeLacy said. "I just want to help the community."

"People are going out searching for animals. It's amazing how people do care," she said. "We've had a lot of clients call and say they've lost their homes and lost their animals."

As the sad stories continued Monday, the town carried on. People could be seen hugging on sidewalks and breaking down in tears in grocery stores. Workers at the local Raley's made dozens of sandwiches to give away. Churches turned themselves into intake centers.

A young couple, presumably vacationers, snapped photos of their children on a miniature train and, just outside town, foursomes of golfers teed up in the thick smoke that hovered as the winds slowed.

And at the bustling Starbucks, about a mile from where Marge Harts continued to collect the names of volunteers and Jamie Morris sorted out piles of clothes, a firefighter reached into his pocket to pay for his coffee, only to be told it was on the house.

source: www.sacbee.com