Book of Dreams: Help victims of Caldor Fire grapple with its aftermath
In August of last year, the Caldor Fire blazed up the Highway 50 corridor, taking out two-thirds of the tiny El Dorado County hamlet of Grizzly Flats, between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe.
It was so bad that President Joe Biden helicoptered over the area to see the destruction. Gone were the local school, a fire station, a post office and about 1,200 structures, of which 440 were year-round homes.
Among the houses lost was the 1,800-square foot “dream home” of Jennifer McKim-Hibbard and her family. It was the kind of place where neighbors stopped by for coffee and a crowd of kids was always coming and going.
“It was a warm, welcoming home, where our door was always open to anyone who stopped by,” she said.
Ultimately, she found lodging to rent for herself, her disabled husband and two children in a nearby community. While they struggled to rebuild their lives, she knew her friends and neighbors had it worse than they did.
So she and a small group of like-minded people set up the West Slope Foundation nonprofit to help residents of Grizzly Flats obtain essential needs for living. At the top of the list of items needed by displaced residents: warm clothing to get through the winter.
“When we evacuated it was summer,” she said. “A lot of us didn’t think about bringing snow boots, warm hats, heavy jackets … And today a lot of Grizzly Flats residents are still without.
“The first winter it wasn’t an issue because many people relocated elsewhere. Now they are coming back and realize they don’t have winter coats, boots and other cold weather wear.”
She said she can’t stop people from hurting as they rebuild their lives, but she can do something to make sure they aren’t cold.
“I’m not talking about ski wear, I am talking about things like snow boots, heavy duty jackets, warm socks … scarves, gloves, that type of thing.”
Book of Dreams wish: Funds for survival wear
She is hoping that readers of the Sacramento Bee’s Book of Dreams will help her raise $5,000 to $10,000 to stock up on survival wear that can be handed out this winter. Residents apply in advance for what they need, and then pick up goods at the Pioneer Union Elementary School in Somerset, 20 miles from Grizzly Flats.
Grizzly Flats has seen steady snowfall this year, more than McKim-Hibbard can recall in the past. Wind gusts on occasion go as high as 45 miles per hour. Accuweather.com recently projected that temperatures will dip into the low 30s daily through the end of the year.
Meanwhile, hundreds of families are living in temporary quarters.
“We have individuals still couch surfing, families split up with fathers living in one place and moms and kids in another,” McKim-Hibbard said. “Some others are living in trailers on or off their properties.”
Seeking federal aid
Grizzly Flats families are applying for all the federal aid they can get. However, McKim-Hibbard said, Grizzly never qualified for what FEMA calls “individual assistance,” which pays for short-term essential needs like clothing, in part because of wealth in other parts of the county.
“We have done three appeals for individual assistance and all three have either been denied or unanswered,” she said. She said she believes the failure to qualify for immediate assistance also affected residents’ ability to apply for some other federal relief programs.
Scot Telfer, executive director of West Slope Foundation, said the group has been very effective in getting funding and donations, despite the lack of federal aid, “but it still isn’t enough.”
“We get as many grants as we can, and work with an amazing set of partners, from the Salvation Army to the Federated Church, Episcopalian Disaster Relief, the Red Cross, El Dorado County and many others,” he said. “So far we have been able to provide $500,000 worth of goods and financial assistance but we still have many unmet needs.”
With winter weather expected to remain at least until April, McKim-Hibbard said time is of the essence.
“We have worked countless hours to provide as much assistance to the survivors as possible, but with funding drying up we are having a harder time fulfilling their needs.” she said. “Our community lost everything, so any little bit we can do to make them more comfortable, while replacing lost items, will help take away some of the stresses.”
Book of dreams
The request: The West Slope Foundation is seeking $5,000 to $10,000 to provide winter coats, boots and other cold weather gear to people displaced by the 2021 Caldor Fire.
How to help: You can make a donation at sacbee.com/bookofdreams.
