By Nancy Tamarisk, Napa Group Vice Chair
When we were evacuated out of Circle Oaks after midnight on the morning of October 9th, we were unaware that just over our ridge the fast-moving Atlas Peak fire had already killed 6 people and destroyed hundreds of homes. Escaping north and west to our friend’s house in Yountville we were transfixed by the eerie vision of orange flame serpents snaking up the hillsides.
Within hours of the breakout of the fire, Napa Valley College, my employer, opened up an evacuation shelter. That first night we hosted 80 evacuees. When the city of Calistoga was evacuated, the number quickly surged to almost 800, housed in 3 separate buildings. Perhaps a dozen organizations including the Red Cross, Salvation Army, Napa Health and Human Services supported shelter operations.
As a nurse, and head of College Student Health, I donned a bright yellow vest and threw myself into the operation, helping to coordinate round-the-clock medical teams. Over the next 8 days, this challenge evolved into an intense and inspiring experience. That first day we scrambled to assemble medical supplies and to meet the health needs of the residents. In the early evening, the medical teams left, and finding myself the only remaining health professional, I settled in for the night.
The generosity of the community, the ingenuity and selflessness of workers and volunteers, and the spirit of the evacuees were overwhelming. A Kaiser medical team appeared each morning, and, after that first night, volunteer Emergency Medical Response teams from other counties, as well as individual volunteer nurses, physicians, and EMT’s showed up for each graveyard shift. Counselors from various agencies were posted to the shelter. We tended to acute illnesses and injuries, ordered medications for those who had left them at home, sent a few people off to the ER, calmed the anxious, and oriented confused elders. The question of health insurance never arose. All who needed treatment got it.
The chow line featured great food donated by Napa restaurants. By the weekend, masseuses, a country music band, and costumed action heroes showed up. Food trucks from as far away as San Francisco distributed free food.
Over a hundred people camped out in the parking lots, preferring to sleep in their vehicles. Sadly, many of those car campers were undocumented residents, who, despite assurances, could not bring themselves to trust the shelter organization to protect them from ICE. Volunteers worked the parking lot, carrying out blankets and food.
Amid acres of devastation and blasted homes, I saw the best of humanity. Must it take a disaster to remind us of our kinship and shared humanity? Can we carry this feeling forward?
As for my home, the Circle Oaks neighborhood was spared by the valiant efforts of firefighters. Each day I drive to work past the homes of those who were not so fortunate.
Night Shift Medical Staff at the Napa Valley College Shelter: Red Cross volunteer nurse Else, Nancy Tamarisk and Kaiser MD Tessa.