October 26, 2007

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – While exhausted firefighters continue to squelch 18 deadly wildfires that rushed across hundreds of acres of California residential and scrub lands this week,

the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee's (www.crwrc.org) Disaster Response Services (DRS) is assessing the deployment of teams of trained volunteers into the area.

As evacuation shelters close, many of the area's 300,000 displaced residents are returning home to discover the state of their property and collect what they can from the remains. To assist them, CRWRC-DRS Rapid Response and Needs Assessment teams are readying for workers who would engage in house-to-house Needs Assessment and coordinated reconstruction among the 1,800 homes and businesses that have been destroyed.

CRWRC-DRS Director, Bill Adams, with Don and Gert Vos, volunteer managers who reside in the affected area, are in contact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the American Red Cross (ARC) and other voluntary agencies to plan assistance to home owners in determining their losses and reconstruction potential.

Adams says that "With church groups from other parts of the country ready to assist, we are coordinating possible follow-up work with evacuees to help assess their losses, their eligibility for aid, and their available resources."

Adams went on to say that CRWRC-DRS rebuilt homes in low-income neighborhoods in the East hills near San Diego in response to wildfires in 2003, when 4,000 homes were destroyed. At that time, the organization sent in work teams to rebuild homes in and around the Crest and Ramona areas for about a year.

With this week's media attention going to some higher profile or nationally recognized residents in the Malibu area, CRWRC-DRS would concentrate a response on fire survivors who are least notable – those without insurance, the elderly, handicapped, and already surviving below the poverty line.

CRWRC's expertise in domestic disaster is "long-term recovery:" providing Needs Assessments; building the capacity of the area's local disaster response organizations with response planning and financial reviews; and estimating and reconstructing damaged or destroyed homes and businesses. CRWRC maintains a network of several thousand multi-denominational, trained and experienced volunteers from the U.S. and Canada to respond to natural and human disasters across North America.

"Once firefighters get things under control and first responders finish their work, CRWRC will identify our opportunities for teams helping with clean-up and reconstruction," Adams says. "When we make a commitment to a recovery organization, we send in teams of about 20 people every three weeks over an extended period to complete reconstruction. Our teams are self-contained – with tools, equipment, management, cooks, and enough skilled workers to get the job done."

Christian Reformed and Reformed Churches in the destruction path report that dozens of church members from Escondido and Rancho Bernardo, and the Korean Christian Reformed churches, were evacuated this week. One member family lost their home completely.

Volunteers wishing to assist with CRWRC response to California Wildfires can go to http://www.crwrc.org/ and click on Get Involved.

CRWRC is accepting financial donations, designated "California Wildfires 2007" at http://www.crwrc.org/ by clicking on the Donate button. Or mail your check made out to "CRWRC California Wildfires 2007" to CRWRC, 2850 Kalamazoo Avenue, SE, Grand Rapids MI 4950-0600. To donate by telephone, call 1-800-55-CRWRC.

CRWRC is a Christian, non-profit organization of the Christian Reformed Church in North America providing a ministry of development, relief, and justice education to people in need around the world.

Christian Reformed Church