‘We’ve all lost everything’: California communities rally to help Dixie Fire evacuees
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The Dixie Fire has burned more than 515,000 acres (208,000 hectares) in northern California, destroying more than 1,000 homes and continuing to threaten residential areas. Efforts are now under way to provide relief and shelter to those who have been displaced by what has become the second-largest wildfire in the state’s history. FRANCE 24’s Ediz Tiyansan reports from a community centre in the town of Quincy.
Boxes of donations keep arriving in Quincy, one of many towns in northern California hosting hundreds of people displaced by the Dixie Fire.
A community centre has opened its doors to evacuees, who come for essential supplies, including mattresses, blankets and tents. For many, finding lodging has been a problem.
“A lot of people are sleeping on the streets right now,” Casey, a fire evacuee who volunteers at the centre, said to FRANCE 24. “A lot of people are just pulling over and putting their blankets and stuff on the side of the road because they have nowhere else to go right now.
“We’ve all lost everything.”
Casey said he volunteers to distract his mind from the loss his community has suffered.
“It’s really hard. Waking up in the morning and realising something that has been there for 25 years isn’t there anymore. It sucks. A place that all of us had to go and call home is gone,” Casey said.
Click on the player to watch the full report.
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