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For people interested in assisting victims of the North Bay wildfires, below is information on groups that are providing help and in need of donations. We will update this as new information comes in. If you have information to share, please email editor@paweekly.com.
Animal supplies
The student chapter of the Veterinary Technology Program at Foothill Community College is gathering donations through Oct. 25 to help the animals displaced by the fires. The students will be working with multiple animal rescue organizations and shelters to provide basic necessities as well as medical care.
Monetary donations can be made by sending cash or checks payable to SCNAVTA, with the memo “SCNAVTA Fire Fund,” to Vet Tech Program, Foothill College, 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills, Calif. 94022.
The students are also accepting supplies; please contact them at fhvtSCNAVTA@gmail.com to coordinate. Supplies most needed include:
• dog food (wet and dry)
• cat food (wet and dry)
• poop bags
• dog and cat beds
• wet wipes
• new litter boxes
• cat and dog toys
• food / water bowls
• crates of any size
• towels
• litter
Emergency supplies
The community at Addison Elementary School at 650 Addison Ave., Palo Alto is collecting items Monday (before school only) in front of the Addison MP room, to be dropped off at Love on Haight in San Francisco, which is working to get supplies to where they are needed. Only new items (in packages) and only the items on this list are being accepted:
• Underwear and socks (all sizes – kids and adults).
• Sweatpants and/or pajamas (all sizes – kids and adults).
• Towels.
• Personal hygiene products (toothbrushes, tooth paste, deodorant, baby wipes, soap).
• Versatile gift cards – Target, CVS, Walgreens, Safeway.
Menlo Church in Menlo Park and Mountain View will be collecting the following items this weekend and next:
• Bottled water
• Toiletries (soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.)
• Diapers (infants, toddlers, elderly)
• Baby formula
• Dust or N95 masks
Donations can be dropped off in the designated areas at the campuses. Volunteers are also needed to sort and deliver the items. Locations: 950 Santa Cruz Ave, Menlo Park (650-323-8604), and 1667 Miramonte Ave., Mountain View (650-330-7525).
Biondivino wine shops in San Francisco and Palo Alto are accepting donations of the following items:
• Face masks (3M 8511 N95 – needs to be able to filter out smoke/gasses, not the lightweight basic model).
• Individual or small eye drops; eye rinse.
• Pillows and pillow cases; air mattresses; blankets.
• Flashlights/batteries/chargers.
• Diapers (children and adult); feminine-hygiene products.
• OTC medicines: Advil, Tylenol, antihistamines, DripDrop, etc.
• Wetwipes, sanitizers, toothbrushes, hair combs etc.
• Baby food; pet food and pet supplies.
• New undergarments: men, women, children of all sizes.
Donations should address the receiver as “FIRE RELIEF c/o Biondivino.” No cash donations are being accepted. Address: Town & Country Palo Alto, 855 El Camino Real #160. Anytime Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Seaport Storage Center and Collection 55 Cellars in Redwood City. Address: 1703 East Bayshore Road, Redwood City. Donations of tents, sleeping bags, pillows, water, personal hygiene products, diapers, can openers and phone chargers can be made until 4 p.m. daily. The center has large trucks available to drop off goods.
Financial donations
The Epicurean Group, a Los Altos company, is providing 1,500 meals per day to evacuees and first responders at the Marin Center. In order to meet demand, they are seeking financial contributions.
[Http://www.yogasource.com Yoga Source] in Palo Alto will donate proceeds from its Oct. 14 noon class with Kristine Tom to United Way of the Wine Country Relief Fund. Yoga Source is at 158 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto.
The American Red Cross has set up a wildfire relief page with a donation box for its Disaster Relief Fund at the bottom.
GoFundMe has curated a page of wildfire fundraising campaigns that address different areas of need.
Other information and ways to help
Facebook has set up a crisis response center with updates about the wildfires.
Airbnb has set up a page where those interested in hosting evacuees can easily do so.
This Facebook page has live requests regarding pet evacuations. And this one has updates for lost and found animals.
Local Closures and Fire Assistance
The Stanford University Department of Public Safety advises that Sand Hill Field could be temporarily closed at times in the coming days to accept incoming helicopter flights transporting patients from the North Bay.
In a special message issued Friday, Palo Alto Mayor Greg Scharff stated that, since the fires started Sunday night, the Palo Alto Fire Department has sent two engines and several members of fire crews, as well as sworn personnel from the police department to assist in operations. Additionally, Palo Alto Animal Services delivered a truck load of donations and supplies and assisted with some animal rescues.
“We are a community that knows how to rise to the occasion, and this disaster serves as a good reason to pull together and help our neighbors during their time of great need,” he said in a statement.
Air Quality Advisory Update
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued health advisories due to heavy smoke from the North Bay fires.
“Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should avoid prolonged outdoor exertion; everyone else, especially children, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion,” when the air quality in the unhealthy range, the district says.
On Saturday, Oct. 14, the district announced: “Air quality remains unhealthy for most of the Bay Area as north-northeasterly winds continue to bring in smoke, adding to residual smoke from yesterday. While winds today will transport new smoke mainly across the North and Central Bay areas, trapped smoke will continue to affect the Peninsula and South Bay, and at least some additional smoke will likely drain south into those areas as well.”
Visit the district’s website for more information and air quality updates.
Current air quality conditions by ZIP code can be found online on a federal Environmental Protection Agency website.
