TODAY, WE MADE A DIFFERENCE!    10/31/07                      

It’s been an incredibly busy day in the burned areas of East County and it has become clear that what is needed most from Kiwanians is volunteer power.  We watched truckload after truckload of supplies come in with everything from shovels to batteries to eye solution.

It seems like the information we gathered and processed in 2003 Cedar Fire is now obsolete.  Question – why?  Answer – because the world of fire recovery has changed, in part because of our experience and in part, in spite of us.   

Today we saw, and were a part of, the new fire technology. Semi trucks loaded with the supplies needed, from many different sources, were broken down into units destined for each fire recovery center under the direction of our own Rescue Task Force.  Then to see these supplies loaded into shiny new Dodge trucks driven by volunteers, members of the Chrysler Corporation, - these efforts combined with those of the Red Cross and others, have put our communities weeks ahead of our best effort in the Cedar Fire.

This is not to say that a lot of work still needs to be done, but that our efforts as Kiwanians need to be on a different tack.  The Kiwanis volunteer effort of today, although small in numbers, was willing to blend into the new process, working with the material and mobility of the Chrysler/Rescue Task Force team.  We got more material to more people at the point of use than we could ever have accomplished in the past.  The key to making this new system work efficiently is volunteer power.

We have two areas requiring volunteer power.  The first, and most demanding, is providing relief to the local recovery station personnel.  In these early days, our task will be to relieve these people to get a few hours of sleep or go to a place where a shower can be had.  Later, it will be to allow them to file their own paperwork and care for the needs of property and family.

The second area of need is for transportation, whether this might be to pick up and deliver material, or to meet a victim’s personal need to get to a doctor’s appointment. Gasoline is expensive as we all know, but in the back country it is also very hard to find, and under current conditions, even harder to store.

To fill the relief requirements, we would like to assemble a work party each day for the week of November 5th, at 0830 at the Alpine Community Center.  Crews will be assigned as needs are determined. We anticipate being able to put every volunteer to full use. We’d like to begin this effort TOMORROW MORNING, with a caravan of cars and an introductory tour so that everyone can become familiar with where the relief centers are, who to contact, etc.  You are welcome to join us later in the day at Barrett Junction if that is more convenient.  The Alpine MMQ Golf Tournament is this Friday, November 2^nd, so Alpine will not be putting a crew together that day.