As of this midday today, the death toll from the tragic Northern California Fires has reached 15 and will only climb. The destruction to businesses, homes, barns, animals, numerous vineyards and wineries are immeasurable. The videos posted by residents as they fled are incredulous and the photographs of the aftermath will bring tears to anyone’s eyes. Where will they stay? what will they do with their animals? They can’t drink the water, they have no beds, clothes, cell service. Here are some resources that can help. Please share.

Note: You may wonder why a design blog is posting an article like this. I grew up in the area and still have many friends and family there. Plus, it’s my blog. LOL.

20,000 peopled were forced to flee their homes as 17 wildfires raged in the Northern California area. 200 missing-person reports have been lodged in the county. The Tubbs fire in Sonoma and Napa counties is said to have burned at least 27,000 acres; the Atlas Peak fire, has burned 25,000 acres; and the Redwood Complex fire in Mendocino county has burned 19,000 acres.

Over 1500 structures, including California’s oldest family-owned winery, Gundlach Bundschu Winery, have been destroyed.

The fire in Santa Rosa alone, called the Tubbs Fire, had burned at least 27,000 acres by Tuesday morning, one of several wildfires in and around Northern California.

Help For NorCal Fire Evacuees

REGARDING EVACUATION AND SAFETY INFO – Text “95476” to 888-777 to Receive Nixle Public Safety Alerts for the Sonoma Valley Area

MISSING PEOPLE – Sonoma County officials say people needing information about a missing person in the county can call the Fire and Emergency Services Department at (707) 565-3856.

SHELTERS & TEMPORARY HOUSING – Shelters all over the North Bay have been set up to assist and temporarily house.  They are:
• Sonoma County Fairgrounds at 1350 Bennet Valley Road, Santa Rosa
• Finley Community Center at 2060 West College Avenue, Santa Rosa (THIS SHELTER IS AT CAPACITY)
• Santa Rosa Veterans Building at 1351 Maple Avenue, Santa Rosa (THIS SHELTER IS AT CAPACITY)
• Petaluma Community Center at 320 North McDowell Blvd, Petaluma (THIS SHELTER IS AT CAPACITY)
• Sebastopol Community Center at 390 Morris Street, Sebastopol
• Cloverdale Citrus Fair at 1 Citrus Fair Drive, Cloverdale
• Sonoma Valley High School at 20000 Broadway, Sonoma
• Analy High School Gym at 6950 Analy Avenue, Sebastopol
• Elsie Allen High School, 599 Bellevue Avenue, Santa Rosa
• Healdsburg Community Center at 1157 Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg
• Church of Christ at 370 Sonoma Mountain Parkway, Petaluma
• New Life Church at 1310 Clegg Street, Petaluma
• Cook Middle School at 2480 Sebastopol Road, Santa Rosa
• Guerneville Veterans Hall at 16255 First Street, Guerneville
• Monte Rio School at 20700 Foothill Drive, Monte Rio
• Windsor High School at 8695 Windsor Road, Windsor
• Casa Grande High School at 3333 Casa Grande Road, Petaluma
• Cloverdale Citrus Fair at 1 Citrus Fair Drive, Cloverdale – sheltering people and animals
• Petaluma Church of Christ 370 Sonoma Mountain Parkway
• Petaluma New Life Church 1310 Clegg Street
• Solano Community College on Suisun Valley Road, Fairfield
• Crosswalk Community Church at 2590 1st Street in Napa
• Napa Valley Junior College on SR-221 south of Imola Ave
• Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga on Oak Street
• Marin Center at 10 Avenue of the Flags in San Rafael
• Mystic Theatre at 23 Petaluma Blvd. in Petaluma (daytime evacuation center only)

Believe it or not, The Marin Center (one of the largest evacuee spaces) has had such an outpouring of donated supplies they are no longer in need.

ANIMAL SHELTERS & ANIMAL HELP
The following Multiple shelters are open to assist pet owners.
• Napa County Animal Shelter at 942 Hartle Ct, Napa
• Santa Rosa Fairgrounds at 1350 Bennett Valley Road. Access the Fairgrounds via Gate 7 on Aston Ave
• Cloverdale Citrus Fair at 1 Citrus Fair Drive, Cloverdale
• Vintage High farm at 1375 Trower Ave. in Napa will take in larger animals and has equipment to transport them, if needed.
• Marin Humane Society is also offering free shelter to pets, large and small.
• Melanie Foster has generously offered space for up to 10 horses on a 10 acre property in Herald, CA. Please contact her at [email protected], 650.776.7669 (text or call)

SF HOTELS OFFERING DEALS – These San Francisco Hotels offering special rates to Nor Cal Fire Evacuees. Please contact the properties directly to book a room:
• Clift Hotel – Morgans Hotel Group
495 Geary St, San Francisco
20 rooms at $99 tonight with free parking and breakfast
To book: 415-775-4700 (offered by Michael Pace, Area General Manager, West Coast)

•Westin St. Francis
335 Powell St. San Francisco
$99 rate
Pets welcome
To Book: Call 415-397-7000, ask for the manager on duty and mention you’re displaced because of the fires. Rate is based upon availability. Guests must show ID with their home address at check in.

• Stanford Court Hotel
905 California St, San Francisco
$149 rate (tonight only)
To Book: Call 415-989-3500 (offered by Michael Baier, Area Managing Director)

• Monterey Tides Hotel – A Joie de Vivre Hotel
600 Sand Dunes Dr, Monterey
15 rooms @ $119 with waived resort fee for tomorrow through Friday evening and again Sunday – Thursday next week as well
To Book: 831-394-3321 (offered by Heidi Bettencourt, Director of Sales & Marketing)

• The Kimpton Buchanan
1800 Sutter St, San Francisco
Max of 5 rooms for tomorrow (Tues, 10/10) for one night at $150+tax. We have on-site parking for $38+tax additional per overnight and we are pet friendly with no fees.
To book: Reservations can only be made by calling 415.921.4000 from 9:30-4:30 tomorrow and asking for Jasmine, the reservationist extraordinaire

• Aloft San Francisco Airport
401 E Millbrae Ave, Millbrae
20 rooms for tonight at a special rate of $109
To book: Call (650) 443 – 5555 and speak to Yuka Kokubu

• Hotel Zypher San Francisco
250 Beach St, San Francisco
$95 rate, Breakfast, Parking, and Wireless included. Pets welcome! Refrigerators in all rooms and some have a microwave
Up to 20 rooms per night and more if needed.
To book: Please contact [email protected] for availability.

• Becks Motor Lodge
2222 Market St, San Francisco
$50 rate, includes parking and pets
To book: Call 415-621-8212

This list may be updated as more hotels offer deals, for the latest go here.

AIRBNB MEMBERS OFFERING FREE SHELTER NEARBY

Airbnb has launched its Open Homes program for those seeking shelter free of charge at a residence outside of but nearby the affected area. Wonderful volunteers have stepped up (32 so far), but they are still looking for more willing to volunteer space at their local home for evacuees.
Find where to stay here

SUPPORT THE FIREFIGHTERS – Napa Resident, and Vineyard & Winery Owner Jake Kloberdanz started a crowd-sourced fundraiser to raise funds to be spread out evenly to fund the following organizations and their relative efforts:

• Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority (Sonoma Valley Fire and Rescue Authority )
• Napa County Fire Department ( https://www.countyofnapa.org/CountyFire)
• Lake County Fire and Rescue ( https://lakecountyfire.com)
• And relief fund(s) being set up for the people impacted by the fire.
Help them reach their goal here

VOLUNTEER
Want to volunteer to help those affected by the #NorCalFires? Go to https://volunteer.cvnl.org  to register as a disaster service worker.

RED CROSS
You can donate to the Red Cross, which helps distribute disaster relief aid. In addition to online donations, you can also call all 1-800 RED CROSS or text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

STAY UPDATED
• Live updates from the SF Chronicle

• Sonoma Magazine contributor Sarah Stierch has done a great job on twitter letting people know what has been destroyed, what is still standing and other pertinent info. She has even offered to answer questions if she can. Follow her at https://twitter.com/Sarah_Stierch