COMMUNITY RALLIES TO SUPPORT PACK FIRE VICTIMS

Published in the Nov. 22 issue.

Last Thursday, at 11:09 a.m., Andrea Walker looked up McGee Creek Canyon to see a stream of smoke flowing from the campground. She immediately called her friend Scott McGuire, who is the Long Valley fire chief.

Walker was the first person to report Pack Fire. The fire wreaked havoc that day, destroying approximately 30 structures in McGee and causing evacuations from Crowley to Benton Crossing.

The fire had burned 1,974 acres before it was fully contained by 614 personnel, 33 engines, 22 crews, four water tenders and a dozer. 

“I put my children and my two dogs into our car and drove around the creek to go and pick up my neighbor’s children,” Walker recalled tearfully.“My friend’s children saw flames come down the hill, and at that moment they knew their house was gone within the next 15-20 minutes.”

Walker’s home survived the Pack Fire, largely because her husband built their house to be fire resistant. However, Walker’s husband, Scott Walker, lost most of the equipment he needed to operate his two businesses.

Walker has mixed feelings about the County’s reaction to the fire.

“Somebody needs to reach out to our community and be like, ‘hey, we’re here, and this is where you can go. And not on Facebook and not on Instagram and not on the county website,’” Walker said. 

She did, however, praise the efforts of the community and the first responders.

“The people came together really quickly and organized.”

Others echoed her sentiments.

“There were hundreds and hundreds of messages outpouring support, saying things like we have a place to stay or let’s get some donations together,” Channing Ross, a Crowley resident who evacuated, said.

The danger of the fire became tangible to Ross when it jumped Highway 395 as her husband, Shawn Ross, was driving down it.

Mono County Sheriff Ingrid Braun praised the multi-agency response, which included multiple local fire departments. Some of them were fully volunteer, including  the Long Valley Fire Department. The Mammoth Lakes Fire District brought four engines, two water tenders, and two chiefs to help fight the fire.

“The sense of community of everybody taking care of each other and the sense of community amongst the first responders just made me realize how fortunate we are,” Braun said. “We have this sense of family. We will all work together because we have to.”

After the fire, efforts to support families affected by the disaster were multi-lateral, ranging from GoFundMe pages for individuals and families who lost their homes to more centrally organized efforts from Mammoth Community Foundation (MCF).

These GoFundMe pages came with heartfelt, personal messages.

“Yesterday, tragedy struck the Raya family when a sudden and devastating fire completely destroyed their home… The Raya family has always been the kind of people who support and uplift others,” posted Ashley Campos on the behalf of the Raya family.

“My parents and I have lived in that house for 19 years. It was the only home I have ever known, and now it is gone,” posted Eleanor Brode.

The GoFundMe pages are individual efforts to raise funds, but MCF, a charity organization staffed by the Mammoth Chamber of Commerce, hoped to create a unified fundraising effort.

MCF had raised just under $70,000 as of Tuesday morning.

Brianna Goico, President and CEO, is currently coordinating with the county to compile a list of individuals to recieve the funds raised.

“I’m looking for names, physical addresses, mailing addresses, cell phone numbers, email, household sizes, how many kids and adults,” she said.

She wants to evenly distribute funds to everyone affected. The amount distributed will depend on how much money MCF is able to raise.

“Our plan is to take funds through Thanksgiving, and then before Christmas, distribute funds out to those impacted,” Goico said.

MCF is also compiling a list of businesses and foundations that want to offer support directly to those impacted without being public facing.

For now, Walker said the people in McGee are continuing to rally around each other.

“We’ve been getting together for dinners and spending time with each other on a daily basis. Even if it’s not face to face, it’s texting and staying in touch,” she said.