AMERICAN CANYON — When Calistoga residents under mandatory evacuation as a result of the Wine Country wildfires arrive in American Canyon, they’re in for some southern hospitality.
Residents of this small Bay Area city are responding to a call for donations and volunteers to help their neighbors, who are coming from the northernmost tip of Napa County, in a big way.
Officials announced Wednesday afternoon that the local high school would become an evacuation center for Calistoga evacuees because nearby Napa Valley College was full.
By Wednesday night, at least a hundred or so volunteers had shown up at American Canyon High School. Many of them are students there.
“We’re super involved here,” said Angelina Ramirez, a 17-year-old senior who wants to be an immigration lawyer. “It doesn’t really surprise me that there are so many people here because we’re pretty close.”
Besides, Napa Valley Unified School District schools have been closed all week because of the fires and she was getting a little restless. “I always need to be doing something, so I scrubbed my walls,” she said.
Ramirez’s mom, Christina, is a staff secretary for the high school. She was overseeing student volunteers as they unloaded donations at the drop-off circle in front of the gym, then sorted through them.
Blankets, pillows, sleeping bags on the main floor of the gym. Kids’ stuff on the second floor. Additional food, toiletries and clothing in the library across the way. And cases and cases of bottled water, all donated by the community.
“When this call came out, it was just, ‘woosh,’ “ Christina Ramirez said. The students came in droves.
“It’s good for the students to see this,” she said. “It gives them a little bit of hope with all the bad news that’s out there.”
She and Mayor Leon Garcia briefed volunteers in the gym, telling them that after Wednesday night’s orientation, they’d be called later when they’re needed.
“There’s a lot of volunteerism in American Canyon,” the mayor said. But this will be the first time the city has hosted something like this.
Garcia said the city also has sent 12 of its 16 firefighters to help fight the Northern California wildfires, which have taken a devastating toll: 23 people killed, more than 3,500 homes and businesses destroyed, thousands and thousands of acres burned as fires rage on with no end in sight.
As of about 9:30 Wednesday night, the city’s volunteers — who far outnumbered the handful of evacuees who had arrived by this point — were waiting for cots to be delivered by the Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army also had a food truck outside, ready to cook up hot meals. And the Red Cross helped the community figure out logistics of this evacuation center that sprang up around 4 p.m. or so, said Councilman David Oro.
“Then it just snowballed,” Oro said. “Donations came pouring in.”
