August 24, 2015

Washington State post helps wildfire victims

By Ken Olsen
Emergency
Washington State post helps wildfire victims
Washington State post helps wildfire victims

Legion Post 157 in Electric City has become a relief center for hundreds of people chased out of their homes by wildfires blazing across central and northeastern Washington.

Food and clothing for families pushed out of their homes by wildfires. Energy drinks, snacks and personal supplies for hundreds of firefighters and support crew. Breakfast cereal for an American Red Cross shelter. Diapers for the local hospital.

These are the fruits of Saturday’s labor for members and volunteers at American Legion Post 157 in Electric City, Wash., which has become a relief center for hundreds of people chased out of their homes by wildfires blazing across central and northeastern Washington.

“We are playing the crisis-containment role,” said Cindy Jayne, commander of Post 157. “Right now, the priority is immediate needs – clothing, food and shelter.”

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American Legion Auxiliary Unit 10 in Wenatchee also has launched relief efforts. The need for such assistance is growing by the hour. A dozen large wildfires are burning in Washington. President Barack Obama issued a national disaster declaration for the state on Friday. Widespread emergency evacuations included American Legion posts in Twisp and Winthrop. The governors of Idaho, Montana, Washington, Oregon and California have declared statewide emergencies because of the fires.

The National Interagency Fire Center has made Washington and Oregon blazes its top firefighting priority, said Tina Boehle, public information officer with the federal center responsible for wildland fire management. Some 200 soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord arrived at the Kanicksu Complex of fires in northeastern Washington on Sunday. This is the first time active-duty military have been deployed to fight fires since 2006. In part, members of the 17th Field Artillery Brigade received fire training from a U.S. Bureau of Land Management crew comprised entirely of military veterans.

All told, there are approximately 78 large wildfires affecting more than 1.5 million acres across the West. Federal firefighting costs have topped $1 billion. More than 1,700 National Guard have been called out to battle fires in Oregon, California, Montana, Idaho and Washington. In Washington alone, more than 700 National Guard personnel are fighting fires on the ground and providing helicopter support. Air National Guard units from California, Wyoming and North Carolina are supplying specially equipped C-130s to help fight the fires across the West, as is the Air Force Reserve, according to the National Guard Bureau.

Five Canadian crews, a Canadian air tanker group, and a group of Canadian planes that can scoop water from a lake to drop on fires also have joined the effort. Fire managers from Australia and New Zealand also were expected to join the effort this week. Volunteers from Team Rubicon, a group primarily comprised of post 9/11 veterans, have been supporting firefighting efforts in California. Additional Team Rubicon volunteers are waiting to be dispatched to other fires.

The Electric City Post is covering almost every aspect of disaster relief in Washington. Post member and Vietnam veteran Ben Alling is on the fire lines. Other Legion volunteers delivered 500 pounds of supplies to the firefighter camp at Nespelem, Washington, on Saturday that supports crews fighting the North Star fire.

Post 157 also delivered two cases of breakfast cereal to the American Red Cross shelter at Lake Roosevelt School in the nearby town of Coulee Dam on Saturday and two cases of adult diapers to Coulee Medical Center. A steady stream of families who have been pushed out of their homes by fires in central and northeastern Washington came to the Legion hall for food, clothing, toothbrushes, towels and other items throughout the weekend.

Jayne and her team put out the call for donations last week. The response has been overwhelming. The Coeur d’Alene Tribe from northern Idaho delivered two truckloads of supplies Friday. That’s just one example of the ways people are stepping up. “I’m so grateful for the love and support of my members, the local communities, and The American Legion Department of Washington and American Legion national staff,” Jayne said.

Even before deciding to start a disaster relief center, Post 157 provided financial assistance to a Vietnam veteran and his family who had to leave their home near Chelan. “We were able to hook them up with the Moses Lake Post,” Jayne said.

This is especially gratifying work for Jayne, whose father fought fires for the U.S. Forest Service for 28 years. “Working to help all of these people is a way that I’m honoring my dad.”

Jayne expects demand for American Legion help to become more intense in the coming weeks.

“I believe that the greater need will arise once the fires are out and people can get back to their places to see what, if anything, is left for them,” she said. “Money is going to be key to future assistance. But we also ask for prayers for everyone involved – the evacuees, the firefighters, the firefighter support staff and law enforcement, EMTs and ambulance personnel.”

Donations can also be sent to: The American Legion Department of Washington, P.O. Box 3917, Lacey, Wash., 98509

  • Emergency