The owners of a small Ridgefield business who have family and friends in Paradise, Calif., are headed south with a truckload of donations for wildfire victims.
Theresa Jones of NW Nut said they are filling a 26-foot U-Haul truck donated by Nick Smit at Gresham, Ore., Subaru with items for people in need in California. The plan is to leave Sunday, she said.
Jones got the idea to set up a “donation station event” from friend Kelly Love, she said.
“We’re collecting things people would need if they were moving into a new home,” Jones said, adding that items such as movie tickets would be helpful, too, so survivors can have some entertainment in trying times.
Needed items include toilet paper, pillows, sleeping bags, tents and lightly used clothing, to name a few.
Jones said she set up a tent outside her business, 2218 N.E. 179th St., and lined it with boxes. About a half-dozen people stopped by Thursday morning, carrying bags filled with dollar-store purchases. There’s still plenty of room in the truck, so Jones encouraged people to stop by with donations.
The massive wildfire in California has killed at least 56 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Hope is fading in the search for more than 100 other residents reported missing. As of Wednesday evening, the deadliest wildfire in California’s history had destroyed more than 10,300 structures and scorched 138,000 acres in Butte County.
The fire was 35 percent contained, according to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials.
Jones’ nephew lost his home in the wildfire, and her husband has a high school friend whose house was also destroyed. Luckily, they are not among the missing, she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
