How We Can Help
Over 1200 home owners in San Diego County have completely lost their homes due to the fires. Thousands of others have damage and clean up issues for which we would like to offer volunteer labor to assist in the effort.
Services we can provide:
Clean up of yards – the winds have blown tree limbs, leaves, ashes, and other debris into most of the yards surrounding the fires. While we can't haul off the debris, we can clean it up and organize it at curb side for pickup.
Fence damage – many wood fences have portions which have blown down. Panels or boards may have to be re-attached. Supporting posts may have sheared off, in which case new posts will need to be installed. Depending on the extent of damage we may be able to assist in repairing.
Blown over objects – many patio covers and awnings are sitting in yards upside down and sideways. They may just need to be reset or re-attached to the home. They may be damaged or destroyed and may need to be dismantled to be hauled away. Patio furniture and BBQ's may need to be righted. We can help.
Cleaning of walls and windows – many homes near homes that burned have smoke and ash on their windows. We can wash the windows and broom clean the soot off the walls. City ordinances prohibit the use of water that may go into the street to clean roofs or walls.
Patios, walkways and driveways - we can broom clean these areas of ashes, leaves, branches, debris.
Trees down – many have trees or portions of trees which have fallen onto homes and into yards. We may be able to assist in cutting the fallen branchs and stacking them for removal.
Broken sliding glass doors and windows – we can assist in boarding them up until glass replacement can be arranged.
Other: If there things you need done that are not on this list, call and we may be able to help
Limitations:
We can't remove trees or large trunks.
We can provide labor but not the materials needed for the above services.
We do not have the resources to haul debris away.
We can't use water to clean soot and debris that may go into the public drains due to govt regulations
Work requests will be handled in order of urgency.
Hotlines for help: 24/7 760-535-1257 858-602-7773
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Best Christmas Present for a Fire Family
I’m sure you’re wondering what the BEST Christmas/Hannukah present for the fire families you know would be . . . .Here it is:
Make copies of all the photos with any member of their family. PRINT them out!!! Also, burn a CD and give it to them.This would be HUGE, HUGE, HUGE in helping them.
If you’re an organizer, set up an online album and contact all their friends and have them all put their photos up onto the website.
And if you’re crafty - make albums!!
Were they at church with you? In school photos? In sports??
Help them recreate their past and build memories. This is worth ALL EFFORT you can give.
And this would be the most treasured gift you could ever give (and to the fire families - ASK ALL YOUR RELATIVES FOR THIS FOR CHRISTMAS/HANNUKAH!!!) .
SOURCE: MERILEE's FIRE INFO FORUM
http://merrileeboyack.com/best-christmas-present-for-a-fire-family/
Make copies of all the photos with any member of their family. PRINT them out!!! Also, burn a CD and give it to them.This would be HUGE, HUGE, HUGE in helping them.
If you’re an organizer, set up an online album and contact all their friends and have them all put their photos up onto the website.
And if you’re crafty - make albums!!
Were they at church with you? In school photos? In sports??
Help them recreate their past and build memories. This is worth ALL EFFORT you can give.
And this would be the most treasured gift you could ever give (and to the fire families - ASK ALL YOUR RELATIVES FOR THIS FOR CHRISTMAS/HANNUKAH!!!) .
SOURCE: MERILEE's FIRE INFO FORUM
http://merrileeboyack.com/best-christmas-present-for-a-fire-family/
Rancho Bernardo Community Fire Recovery Update
Valerie Brown (phone: (858) 485-1292, fax (619)699-6612), Project Coordinator - ReBuilding RB Coalition, is working to get assistance to families in need after the fire. She needs to get current contact information for the affected families so she can deliver donated items to them. She would love to hear from any RB households that have lost their homes, have been displaced, or have been otherwise impacted. Valerie has access to a lot of resources including volunteers, some rental properties, gift certificates and donated items! Please feel free to contact her with needs or additional resources.
Free Family Portraits - Dec 4 in Rancho Bernardo
For anyone who lost photos in the recent fires HP is doing free family portraits.
Family Portraits
Westwood ClubWest Bernardo Drive, Rancho Bernardo
December 4, 2007
Please call 858-722-9193 for a sitting time.
HP is also doing a photo restoration / community replacement program similar to what we did after the Cedar Fires. It launches Thursday Dec 13 at the Westwood Club teen center. And will run Thursday-Sunday starting at 12 noon through early evening. Sessions are scheduled for Dec – Jan. More details will be available shortly.
Family Portraits
Westwood ClubWest Bernardo Drive, Rancho Bernardo
December 4, 2007
Please call 858-722-9193 for a sitting time.
HP is also doing a photo restoration / community replacement program similar to what we did after the Cedar Fires. It launches Thursday Dec 13 at the Westwood Club teen center. And will run Thursday-Sunday starting at 12 noon through early evening. Sessions are scheduled for Dec – Jan. More details will be available shortly.
Sempra Energy Foundation’s 2007 Fire Assistance Fund
2007 Fire Assistance Fund available for your employees who were affected by the recent fires Hundreds of San Diego residents were impacted by the October firestorm. Many of these individuals may be employees at your business. To help both individuals and communities, Sempra Energy, the parent company of SDG&E, has set up a $5 milllion dollar relief fund through the Sempra Energy Foundation.
The Sempra Energy Foundation 2007 Fire Assistance fund is available to anyone affected by the fires. It’s not neccesary to be an SDG&E customer.
Anyone wishing to receive aid should apply to the Sempra Energy Foundation. The Foundation will review all applications and make the best effort to provide relief to those most in need until all funds have been exhausted. Applications for aid are available in both English and Spanish.
Fund information and applications can be obtained, the following two ways:
1. Online at http://www.sempra.com/community/foundation/fire_assistance.htm. Applying online is the quickest and most convenient way to apply for aid.
2. By calling the Sempra Energy Foundation toll-free at (866) 262-4842 to request an application be sent in the mail. This toll free number is available from 8am to 5pm, Monday - Friday.
Please feel free to forward the information provided to your employees. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or visit www.sdge.com.
The Sempra Energy Foundation 2007 Fire Assistance fund is available to anyone affected by the fires. It’s not neccesary to be an SDG&E customer.
Anyone wishing to receive aid should apply to the Sempra Energy Foundation. The Foundation will review all applications and make the best effort to provide relief to those most in need until all funds have been exhausted. Applications for aid are available in both English and Spanish.
Fund information and applications can be obtained, the following two ways:
1. Online at http://www.sempra.com/community/foundation/fire_assistance.htm. Applying online is the quickest and most convenient way to apply for aid.
2. By calling the Sempra Energy Foundation toll-free at (866) 262-4842 to request an application be sent in the mail. This toll free number is available from 8am to 5pm, Monday - Friday.
Please feel free to forward the information provided to your employees. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or visit www.sdge.com.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Garth Brooks tickets for wildfire charity show on sale at 9 a.m.
December 1, 2007 11:53 AM PST
PAM KRAGENStaff Writer
North County Times
LOS ANGELES ----- Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. today for a concert by country superstar Garth Brooks at the Staples Center next month that will raise money for fire victims and firefighters in San Diego, L.A. and Orange counties.
Brooks, who emerged last month from a nine-year retirement to perform a series of charity concerts, will donate 100 percent of the proceeds from the Jan. 26 Staples Center show to the Southern California 2008 Fire Relief Campaign. Brooks is performing without pay and AEG Live is donating the use of Staples Center to maximize the proceeds to the wildfire relief campaign. Other sponsors ---- American Express, the Los Angeles Times and the McCormick Tribune Foundation (which is administering the Fire Relief Campaign) ---- are joining forces to raise an additional $2 million or more for the cause.
"Garth was extremely aware of what our region has had to endure and was on-board the very moment our city and state leaders requested that he perform," said Tim Leiweke, president of AEG, in a prepared statement.
In San Diego, where more than 1,000 homes were destroyed by wildfires in October, Mayor Jerry Sanders expressed his gratitude to Brooks.
"To have a star of Mr. Brooks' stature dedicate his talent and time to help raise funds for those who lost their homes and to better equip our brave firefighters is truly uplifting," Sanders said in a statement.
Brooks is the No. 1 solo artist in U.S. history, having sold more than 123 million albums, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. During his career in the 1990s, he racked up two Grammys, 17 American Music Awards, 11 Country Music Association Awards, 18 Academy of Country Music Awards and 36 Billboard Music Awards, among others. Citing family concerns in the wake of a highly publicized divorce, Brooks retired from touring in 1998 to focus on raising his three daughters in rural Oklahoma. Since then, Brooks --- who married fellow country singer Trisha Yearwood in 2005 --- has re-emerged only to perform periodic concerts for charity. Last month, he performed nine concerts in Kansas City that sold out in a matter of minutes, so the L.A. concert tickets are expected to disappear even quicker.
Tickets to the L.A. concert are $38.60 each, plus $6.40 in taxes and handling fees. A maximum of six tickets will be available per person. Tickets will be sold through all Ticketmaster outlets. Locally, Ticketmaster can be reached by calling (619) 220-8497 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.
PAM KRAGENStaff Writer
North County Times
LOS ANGELES ----- Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. today for a concert by country superstar Garth Brooks at the Staples Center next month that will raise money for fire victims and firefighters in San Diego, L.A. and Orange counties.
Brooks, who emerged last month from a nine-year retirement to perform a series of charity concerts, will donate 100 percent of the proceeds from the Jan. 26 Staples Center show to the Southern California 2008 Fire Relief Campaign. Brooks is performing without pay and AEG Live is donating the use of Staples Center to maximize the proceeds to the wildfire relief campaign. Other sponsors ---- American Express, the Los Angeles Times and the McCormick Tribune Foundation (which is administering the Fire Relief Campaign) ---- are joining forces to raise an additional $2 million or more for the cause.
"Garth was extremely aware of what our region has had to endure and was on-board the very moment our city and state leaders requested that he perform," said Tim Leiweke, president of AEG, in a prepared statement.
In San Diego, where more than 1,000 homes were destroyed by wildfires in October, Mayor Jerry Sanders expressed his gratitude to Brooks.
"To have a star of Mr. Brooks' stature dedicate his talent and time to help raise funds for those who lost their homes and to better equip our brave firefighters is truly uplifting," Sanders said in a statement.
Brooks is the No. 1 solo artist in U.S. history, having sold more than 123 million albums, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. During his career in the 1990s, he racked up two Grammys, 17 American Music Awards, 11 Country Music Association Awards, 18 Academy of Country Music Awards and 36 Billboard Music Awards, among others. Citing family concerns in the wake of a highly publicized divorce, Brooks retired from touring in 1998 to focus on raising his three daughters in rural Oklahoma. Since then, Brooks --- who married fellow country singer Trisha Yearwood in 2005 --- has re-emerged only to perform periodic concerts for charity. Last month, he performed nine concerts in Kansas City that sold out in a matter of minutes, so the L.A. concert tickets are expected to disappear even quicker.
Tickets to the L.A. concert are $38.60 each, plus $6.40 in taxes and handling fees. A maximum of six tickets will be available per person. Tickets will be sold through all Ticketmaster outlets. Locally, Ticketmaster can be reached by calling (619) 220-8497 or visit www.ticketmaster.com.
Fire Closures Hit Working Poor in the Wallet
North County Times
By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer
When North County businesses locked their doors during last month's fires, the temporary closures left many rank-and-file, hourly employees with shrunken paychecks.
At the end of the month.
With rent coming due.
"We had to ask my husband's boss for money to pay rent," said Lorena Castellanos. "It's hard, but what can you do? You can't stop time and ask for another week to make up (for the money we lost)."Her husband works in construction. She works in a Fallbrook nursing home. And on top of raising the couple's 3-year-old son, Lorena Castellanos also attends school full-time to become a licensed vocational nurse.
Finding out how many businesses closed during the fires ---- and thus the number of people with smaller paychecks ---- is difficult, said Gary Knight, the head of the San Diego North Economic Development Council.
He noted anecdotally that while one shop may have stayed open, a neighboring business was often shuttered for a few days.
"There is no reporting system," Knight said.
"There is no central collection service to indicate this kind of data.
"One clue may be to look at the unemployment claims made, he said.
By Tuesday, about a month after the fires began, the state's Employment Development Department had received nearly 6,600 unemployment claims from people who cited the blazes as the reason they were out of work, said Kevin Callori, a spokesman for the department.
Of that number, about 12 percent ---- 789 applicants ---- qualified for the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program, which comes from federal coffers, Callori said.
Since the wildfires, about 512 of those disaster-assistance applications have come from San Diego County. San Bernardino County had 228 people apply for the aid, and Riverside County had 16 such applications, Callori said.
Like the Castellanos family in Fallbrook, many of those affected by the loss of work are people who "really can't afford any interruption in income," said Katherine S. Newman, a professor of sociology and public policy at Princeton University in New Jersey. "It immediately plunges them into trouble.
"Newman's new book, "The Missing Class," highlights the challenges facing a class of people often dubbed the "working poor," or people just above the poverty level ---- those who earn between $20,000 and $40,000 a year.
After the fires, people in such situations can become the "collateral damage of a geographic disaster," Newman said in a telephone interview earlier this month.
What of, say, substitute teachers in Oceanside or Carlsbad who were stuck at home when school districts shut for the week? What of day-care workers who missed out on a week's pay because the child care center that employs them shuttered for the week? And the mom who had to skip work because the schools and day-cares were closed? Or the construction worker who saw much-needed work dry up for the week?
Some, it turns out, may qualify for unemployment checks from the state. But for those who don't, there may be little recourse to recover lost wages.
Professor Arnold Rosenberg at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego said that, generally speaking, employees are not entitled to be paid for hours they did not work.
It may mean tough times for families like the Castellanoses, who will have to stretch their pay in this, the costly Christmas season, to cover the hole in their monthly income.
"We still have the same amount of bills, just less money coming in," Lorena Castellanos said. "That payback will hit now."
"There is tremendous vulnerability in natural disasters," said Newman of the economic crisis confronting the "missing class." "I think it inspires a feeling of frustration, like pushing a rock up a mountain, and every time you are at the top, it tumbles down on top of you.
"For instance, Newman said, people in the working class make too much to qualify for the usual help available to those in poverty. These are people, she said, who work hard and earn money. But savings? For people in this "missing class," people living paycheck to paycheck, who has money to set aside?"
Their struggles don't provide them a buffer or safety net that is very strong," Newman said. "Any type of disaster will dash them down.
"For the lucky few, there may be some relief from the state through the disaster assistance program. It boils down to an unemployment check to cover lost wages due to the fires.Among those who may be eligible for unemployment checks are those who were supposed to begin jobs that wound up disappearing when the fires raged. The unemployment program also covers people who were injured in the disaster and left physically unable to work.
Other people who might qualify are those who were "unable to reach work because of the disaster," which is the phrase the state's Employment Development Department used in a press release Oct. 26.
Because eligibility for help is determined on a case by case basis, it is difficult to say if assistance is there for workers whose place of employment in, say, Valley Center may have been open, but unreachable because authorities were keeping folks from entering the evacuation areas.
Also unclear is whether unemployment checks would be available for employees of businesses outside the evacuation area that closed up shop the week of the fires.
So Callori, the employment department spokesman, has a simple piece of advice: "We tell people to apply if they think they qualify."
The deadline to apply for the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program is Monday.
To learn more about unemployment assistance through the state, go to http://www.edd.ca.gov/eddemerdisaster.htm. The information is available in English and Spanish.Residents can also apply directly online at www.edd.ca.gov/fleclaim.htm, or by calling toll-free (800) 300-5616 for English; (800) 326-8937 for Spanish; or (800) 815-9387 for TTY for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.
By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer
When North County businesses locked their doors during last month's fires, the temporary closures left many rank-and-file, hourly employees with shrunken paychecks.
At the end of the month.
With rent coming due.
"We had to ask my husband's boss for money to pay rent," said Lorena Castellanos. "It's hard, but what can you do? You can't stop time and ask for another week to make up (for the money we lost)."Her husband works in construction. She works in a Fallbrook nursing home. And on top of raising the couple's 3-year-old son, Lorena Castellanos also attends school full-time to become a licensed vocational nurse.
Finding out how many businesses closed during the fires ---- and thus the number of people with smaller paychecks ---- is difficult, said Gary Knight, the head of the San Diego North Economic Development Council.
He noted anecdotally that while one shop may have stayed open, a neighboring business was often shuttered for a few days.
"There is no reporting system," Knight said.
"There is no central collection service to indicate this kind of data.
"One clue may be to look at the unemployment claims made, he said.
By Tuesday, about a month after the fires began, the state's Employment Development Department had received nearly 6,600 unemployment claims from people who cited the blazes as the reason they were out of work, said Kevin Callori, a spokesman for the department.
Of that number, about 12 percent ---- 789 applicants ---- qualified for the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program, which comes from federal coffers, Callori said.
Since the wildfires, about 512 of those disaster-assistance applications have come from San Diego County. San Bernardino County had 228 people apply for the aid, and Riverside County had 16 such applications, Callori said.
Like the Castellanos family in Fallbrook, many of those affected by the loss of work are people who "really can't afford any interruption in income," said Katherine S. Newman, a professor of sociology and public policy at Princeton University in New Jersey. "It immediately plunges them into trouble.
"Newman's new book, "The Missing Class," highlights the challenges facing a class of people often dubbed the "working poor," or people just above the poverty level ---- those who earn between $20,000 and $40,000 a year.
After the fires, people in such situations can become the "collateral damage of a geographic disaster," Newman said in a telephone interview earlier this month.
What of, say, substitute teachers in Oceanside or Carlsbad who were stuck at home when school districts shut for the week? What of day-care workers who missed out on a week's pay because the child care center that employs them shuttered for the week? And the mom who had to skip work because the schools and day-cares were closed? Or the construction worker who saw much-needed work dry up for the week?
Some, it turns out, may qualify for unemployment checks from the state. But for those who don't, there may be little recourse to recover lost wages.
Professor Arnold Rosenberg at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego said that, generally speaking, employees are not entitled to be paid for hours they did not work.
It may mean tough times for families like the Castellanoses, who will have to stretch their pay in this, the costly Christmas season, to cover the hole in their monthly income.
"We still have the same amount of bills, just less money coming in," Lorena Castellanos said. "That payback will hit now."
"There is tremendous vulnerability in natural disasters," said Newman of the economic crisis confronting the "missing class." "I think it inspires a feeling of frustration, like pushing a rock up a mountain, and every time you are at the top, it tumbles down on top of you.
"For instance, Newman said, people in the working class make too much to qualify for the usual help available to those in poverty. These are people, she said, who work hard and earn money. But savings? For people in this "missing class," people living paycheck to paycheck, who has money to set aside?"
Their struggles don't provide them a buffer or safety net that is very strong," Newman said. "Any type of disaster will dash them down.
"For the lucky few, there may be some relief from the state through the disaster assistance program. It boils down to an unemployment check to cover lost wages due to the fires.Among those who may be eligible for unemployment checks are those who were supposed to begin jobs that wound up disappearing when the fires raged. The unemployment program also covers people who were injured in the disaster and left physically unable to work.
Other people who might qualify are those who were "unable to reach work because of the disaster," which is the phrase the state's Employment Development Department used in a press release Oct. 26.
Because eligibility for help is determined on a case by case basis, it is difficult to say if assistance is there for workers whose place of employment in, say, Valley Center may have been open, but unreachable because authorities were keeping folks from entering the evacuation areas.
Also unclear is whether unemployment checks would be available for employees of businesses outside the evacuation area that closed up shop the week of the fires.
So Callori, the employment department spokesman, has a simple piece of advice: "We tell people to apply if they think they qualify."
The deadline to apply for the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program is Monday.
To learn more about unemployment assistance through the state, go to http://www.edd.ca.gov/eddemerdisaster.htm. The information is available in English and Spanish.Residents can also apply directly online at www.edd.ca.gov/fleclaim.htm, or by calling toll-free (800) 300-5616 for English; (800) 326-8937 for Spanish; or (800) 815-9387 for TTY for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.
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