LAKE COUNTY (KRON) — The Valley Fire has left a deep scar on one of California’s poorest communities.
All this week, KRON4 has brought you their stories of both loss and generosity.
Here are what some residents are saying:
“I lost my home, lost everything that i loved.”
“I don’t know how to take that in or swallow it.”
“I can’t really wrap my head about the fact that my home is gone.”
“Never been in a war, and i never want to be in something like that again.”
Before the fire, one in five families in Middletown lived below the poverty line. Now, about half of the town is now homeless.
Children are facing an uncertain future in a makeshift tent city. They want to lay down. They want to go home. They don’t really have a home to go to any more.
Some survivors were shocked by what they found:
“I am here and there is nothing left.”
“So much worse than I thought it would be. Even though I expected it to be bad, I didn’t expect to see everything gone.”
“I can just tell you our world has just changed overnight…I can’t eat. I can’t sleep. More than anybody could imagine.”
Many are responding by bringing hope to the hopeless and help from surrounding communities:
“I just wanted to help them get food and I donated some clothes.”
“It feels great because there are so many people supporting us.”
If you would like to help, you can go to www.redcross.org/donate or call 1-800-Red-Cross.
More on how to help: http://kron4.com/2015/09/13/valley-fire-how-to-help-locating-loved-ones/