After eight days of not knowing whether their house was still standing or if Diane’s orchard escaped the inferno, the Thompsons were allowed to drive up their street to see their home.

“It’s dust,” said Jay.

When the wildfire forced the Thompsons to evacuate last week, they herded their dogs, Ava, Ozzy and Blitz in their truck and fled for safety.

Jay and Diane Thompson have lived in their Black Forest home since 1986 where she grew fruit trees and he bred German Shepherds.

Although the Thompsons lost their home, they were grateful they had each other, their pets, and the support of the Red Cross and the community.

The Red Cross awarded Island Harvest a multi-million dollar grant to provide more than roughly three million meals to people recovering from Sandy.

Sabrina, an Island Harvest site assessor, was working at a community event at the East Rockaway Recreation Center distributing food to Sandy affected residents when she met Jim, a Long Island resident.

“When Jim came to us he was a bit embarrassed because he never thought about asking for food assistance, even though his need for food was a temporary situation,” Sabrina said.

She added that Jim and his family lost their home, car and personal belongings when Sandy hit.

“After talking with us and listening to others who had been affected, Jim began to change his feelings about the situation and realized he was not alone.”

Sabrina gave Jim’s family a disaster relief box full of food, along with information about how he could get more food if needed.

“He was grateful,” Sabrina said. “Jim thanked the Red Cross and Island Harvest for continuing to help.”

The assistance Jim and his family received would not have been possible without the generosity of those who donated to American Red Cross Sandy relief efforts. The Red Cross thanks its donors for their support.

Washington – Two separate brush fires burned hundreds of acres and closed a road in Yakima and Benton Counties on Monday.

The Yakima Valley Chapter deployed team members and provided canteen services for emergency responders.

The Benton-Franklin Chapter communicated with local Emergency Management and placed team members on standby.

Eleven year old Dimitar Georgiev and his dad Valentin were all smiles as they watched magic tricks and played with balloon animals.

“It’s great here,” said Dimitar. “There’s unlimited snacks and play time and lots of games.”

The Georgiev family was forced from their homes when the wildfire began and have been staying at the Red Cross shelter for nearly a week, waiting for the area to be cleared.

The Pascoe family had to leave their home when the wildfire blazed through Black Forest and came to the Red Cross shelter at Palmer Ridge HS along with their two dogs.  Tim Pascoe his wife, Rowena, and daughter, Desli, enjoyed the Father’s Day festivities.

“We are glad we had this time to spend with our family,” said Rowena. “Things have seemed pretty unreal since the evacuation.”

The morning began with a detailed briefing and the review of “street sheets”. These sheets are obtained from the Incident Command Post and provide a list of homes in the burn area. From that list, the assessment team drives through the area in an attempt to locate each residence. This can be a difficult task because addresses signs are often not clearly visible.

“We try to evaluate each home based on a 3 sided evaluation,” said Newell. The team does a driveby assessment of the front and each side to determine if the home was a total loss, partially damaged or not affected. The information is tallied for Red Cross use only so that recovery planning and support can begin. The numbers provided by the Disaster Assessment teams help the Red Cross decide what vehicles, supplies are needed to help with the recovery and the number of additional Red Cross volunteers might be needed.

“This was the first day of disaster assessment”, according to Newell, “we have a long way to go. The complexity of the terrain makes it a slower process.” Newell also said that this is sometimes a difficult and emotional task when you consider the impact this kind of disaster has in families and the community.

 The Red Cross hosted a brief Father’s Day picnic so that workers’ family members could spend a few moments with Dad before he went back to work helping the Red Cross deliver essential basic needs for people affected by the Black Forest Fire and other fires in the state. Food was donated by Catering By Design.

 One of the fathers who experienced a moment of joy with both his son and his own father is Eric Jones, Red Cross State Disaster Officer for Colorado. Jones just recently returned from a harrowing, 16-day deployment to Norman, OK, where he had to hunker down during a massive tornado that passed over him and his disaster workforce.

 Shortly after completing his assignment as Assistant Director of the Red Cross relief operation in Oklahoma, Jones returned to his home in Lakewood – and almost immediately jumped right back into another major disaster response as wildfires erupted in numerous locations in Colorado on June 11.

 Jones, like other Red Cross volunteers and employees, has been working nonstop 12- to 14-hour-days since, and has had little time to spend with his family. He said he had been looking forward to pausing for a moment to celebrate Father’s Day with his family at the Red Cross headquarters.

 ”We’re all working hard today and will tomorrow, and so will the fathers out there on the front line,” Jones said. “As a side note, it touches my heart that my family is willing to come be a part of this celebration of spirit.”

 Jones exchanged Father’s Day cards with his son, Traeger, 2, and his father, Rick Jones, at the event.

“I’m so proud of my son for the sacrifices he makes and the people he helps,” Rick Jones said.

For his part, Jones said he learned the importance of service to others from his dad, who retired as a government civil servant after more than 30 years. Rick Jones is still serving to this day, now as a volunteer for a local Sheriff’s Auxiliary. And Eric hopes to instill the same spirit of service and sacrifice in his own son.

 Last year, Jones and other Colorado Red Cross staff also worked through Father’s Day and July 4^th as they responded to a busy wildfire season. “We’re all appreciative of the Red Cross family and for all of those who chose to serve on this special holiday. The Red Cross is all about mobilizing the power of communities and the generosity of donors  – and today Dads especially,” he said.

See entire set on Flickr >>

California - The Carspens Fire threatened hundreds of homes in Mariposa County and prompted the evacuation of residents within the affected area on Sunday.

The American Red Cross Central Valley Chapter deployed team members, opened an evacuation center and provided Mass Care.

Indiana - A large fire at a recycling plant in Indianapolis threatened hundreds of homes and prompted the evacuation of residents within the affected area on Friday.

The Greater Indianapolis chapter deployed team members, opened an evacuation center / shelter for affected-area residents and provided Mass Care.

Florida - A severe storm caused damages to homes and affected residents in Clay County on Friday.

The Northeast Florida Chapter deployed Disaster Action Team members, dispatched an Emergency Response Vehicle and provided client casework to disaster victims.

Texas - Storms with excessive rainfall caused flooding that went through the southern portion of the state, affected homes and prompted evacuations on Friday.

Team members from the San Antonio Area Chapter communicated with Emergency Management, dispatched an Emergency Response Vehicle, opened two shelters and provided Mass Care to affected-area residents.

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Ohio - Strong winds brought down power lines and trees in Marion county and heavy rain caused flash flooding in Crawford county yesterday.

Search and rescue efforts are underway in some areas.

The Galion Chapter opened a shelter for the affected residents.