Red Cross volunteers like Reece provided shelter for 27,000 people.

Robinson arrived in San Diego and was assigned to a relief shelter at a high school in a suburb called Es Con Dido. There were about 1,800 people at this shelter. Many volunteers were there to make sure everyone had a place to go. He stayed only two days in Es Con Dido before he was moved to the desert town of Campo which is located in the eastern mountains of San Diego. Robinson said that Harris, the second largest wildfire, was just over the mountain ridge. He would walk out on the deck of the shelter every night and look over the ridge. From there, he could see the big orange glow of the fire like a setting sun.

 Robinson’s job in Campo was to supervise shifts at the town's makeshift shelter, a community center that became housing for 200 people. When he was working, Robinson made sure people were fed and cared for, the showers worked and workers were able to help to care for residents' mental and physical well-being. 

At the shelter, local residents were very worried. Some were there because they had lost their homes but many were evacuated as a precaution; they were unsure if their homes would be affected. Because of this, Red Cross workers had to extend extra care and sensitivity to the shelter residents.

Every day, people moved in and out of the shelter when the wind changed direction and Robinson and other shelter workers' jobs changed. Yet even among the chaos, Robinson remembers the positive relationships he formed with the other Red Cross workers from Louisiana and Virginia. Robinson believes relationships form fast because of the Red Cross bond. “People were amazed we had never met each other. But, we were all trained the same way and have the same mission—and the same caring heart,” he mentions.

To learn more about becoming a Disaster Services volunteer like Reece Robinson, visit our Disaster Training page today and submit a volunteer interest form.