Gullixson: Stories from the Valley fire's front (food) line

What stood out about the hundreds of individuals who passed through the food line at the evacuation center in Calistoga Sunday evening was not their appearance or their appetite. With the red and white tablecloths beneath the chafing dishes, the summer apparel and the abundance of children — some of them infants in parents' arms — the scene outside the Calistoga Speedway could have been mistaken for a line at any county fair.

What stood out most was the gratitude and good humor of those who passed through.

'I don't know how long I'm going to be here,' said a dark-haired woman in a ponytail as she examined the drumsticks and other grilled chicken parts that I was charged with distributing, 'so I better have two pieces.'

She had lost everything, she told me calmly. The monster fire that erupted without warning Saturday and tore through southern Lake County claimed her house and most of her possessions. 'At least my boss says I can stay on his property if I need to,' she said. She then went down the line thanking all those who cooked and the Boy Scouts in green hats who were serving the food.

For many like her, the clothes they wore and the plates of food they were holding were among the few things they had to call their own.

One man was proud of a hat he wore from the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He had visited there recently, he said, along with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. 'I just hope all the other hats I got aren't burned up,' he said.

Another man came through the line wearing an Oakland A's T-shirt and A's hat. 'Yeah, the A's,' he said with a sigh and a smile. 'They're a disaster, too.'

Two hours earlier, I had been in my office preparing to write an editorial on the Valley Fire. Local history has recorded few blazes that have erupted with such ferosity and devastating results as this one. But around 3:15 p.m., I got a text from the scoutmaster of my son's Boy Scout troop saying that the Calistoga evacuation center was in need of help for food service. Within the hour, 20 of us from Troop 32 in Rincon Valley were en route to Napa County.

And it didn't take long before they put us to work moving supplies, setting up tents and helping feed the hundreds who were suddenly calling this home.

As the countless photos of the evacuation center at the Napa County fairgrounds have shown, a surge of donations on Sunday left no shortage of material goods for the people there..

By early evening, bags and boxes of donated clothes were piled waist-deep in mounds that were encroaching on a Napa County Sheriff's Department mobile command post. Sacks of pet food formed a sandbag wall against the side of one building. Bottles of shampoo, liquid soap and other toiletries lined tables out in the open. It reached a point that the Red Cross had to stop accepting anything but cash and tents.

About the only thing that evacuees could not find was the one thing they wanted most — information.

Some voiced their frustrations when a 5 p.m. update from Cal Fire provided little direct information about the condition of their street or neighborhood, let alone their homes.

This was, no doubt, the most challenging aspect — not knowing whether this was a temporary stay living in tents or the first step in a long voyage of recovery and rebuilding.

According to the Red Cross, the shelter in Calistoga served roughly 800 meals Sunday night. Another shelter at Kelseyville High School served 337 more. By all appearances, the hundreds of people scattered on cots and tents throughout the grounds were holding up well, many of them tending to their dogs, horses and other animals. But as Red Cross spokeswoman Virginia Hart told Press Democrat reporters, 'It's cheerful to tearful in about 20 seconds.'

Yet what seemed clear, in the words and stories of evacuees, is that there was comfort in community — in being near others and knowing that so many people were rallying to come to their aid.

For many of those who came to lend a hand, it wasn't really a choice. It's what they do.

One of those was Jim Yant of Calistoga, who got the call around midnight on Saturday. Evacuees were headed for the fairgrounds, he was told. And they needed to be fed. No problem, he said. He would be there at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday. He was, and he stayed all day.

He is known as the guy in town who stores the trailer-mounted griddle and grill owned by the local Rotary Club. When there are large groups to be fed, Yant, known for his distinctive mutton chops, is usually around.

But this was different, he said. This time he was cooking for some of the very people who have attended the pancake breakfasts and fundraisers.

'These are our people,' Yant said.

It was a common theme among those who came to help. Given that, those at the evacuation center appear in good hands — at least until the day comes when they will be allowed to return home. Then, at least for the hundreds who may not find anything when they get there, that sense of community may be needed more than ever.

Paul Gullixson is editorial director for The Press Democrat. Email him at paul.gullixson@pressdemocrat.com.