By Taylor Poisall, Red Cross Public Affairs
After a lifetime of living through multiple wildfires in the foothills of Fresno County, Joyce Horne knows when it’s time for her to evacuate.
A late June thunderstorm sent more than 1,000 lightning strikes across the Central Valley, causing multiple vegetation fires across Fresno County. The Flash and Bolt Fires began to increasingly grow and prompted evacuation warnings and orders across the Sierra foothills.
Joyce didn’t sleep the first night wildfires started to creep over the mountain. At 3 o’clock in the morning, she packed all of her essentials, including her sewing machine and materials, and evacuated to a hotel where she could safely rest. “It would be a nightmare to wake up to a wildfire.” One she wasn’t willing to risk.
“When I see smoke, poof… I’m gone,” she explained. “There are just too many variables, and when there is no potential escape route, that’s when it hits critical for me. That’s my nightmare right there.” The June Lightning Complex Wildfires reminded her of previous fires she’s lived through.
“The Rough Fire taught that to me.” The Rough Fire was the largest wildfire of the 2015 California wildfire season, which was also started by lightning strikes. “That was like a volcanic eruption. I don’t take chances anymore. Now that I found this [the shelter], I’m going to tell everyone about this. This is awesome.”
At the hotel, she was safe from the fire, but she missed the company of people her day-to-day life offered. “It’s so good to be around people. It’s amazing… and I’m breathing clean air. It’s nice and cool, and they’re feeding me, and I have my whole setup. This is the dream; I’m pretty happy.”
When a Reedley College administrator noticed Joyce sewing on her cot, a table arrived next to her for her sewing machine minutes later. That small act of kindness blew her way. “I could cry.”
With a laugh, she shared, “I don’t want to go home now. The volunteers are treating me like a queen.”
The wildfires interrupted her friend’s regularly scheduled sewing club at the Bear Mountain Library, but she’s willing to teach anyone her skills at the shelter as she currently works on a new pattern.
Whether you need a meal, a place to charge your devices or lay your head at night, everyone is welcome at our Red Cross shelter. Volunteers are giving essential relief and support to people like Joyce, and here for as long as the community needs us. Find shelter information on redcross.org, the free Red Cross Emergency app or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767).
Red Cross Central California Blog 