Lake County >> The vast majority of local eateries across the county — including some fast-food joints — are providing discounts to firefighters and evacuees. That is, when the staff isn’t busy cooking meals at the evacuation centers.
Just hours after the Valley fire broke out, Jennifer McKnight, a cook at the Boathouse Bar and Restaurant and the daughter of the establishment’s owner, headed to her home in Clearlake Oaks after a 13 hour shift. When she logged onto her Facebook, panicked updates on the raging fire flooded her feed. She and a coworker immediately headed back to the restaurant, grabbed as many sandwich supplies as they could, and went to the Moose Lodge in Clearlake Oaks, where the doors were open for evacuees. McKnight and her coworker assembled sandwiches until 2 a.m.
“It was a very sad scene on night one,” McKnight said. “People were frantic. They didn’t know what to do.”
McKnight and other staff of the Boathouse Bar and Restaurant helped in the kitchens at the Moose Lodge for the next four days. McKnight said things where complete chaos and the staff, who are well-acquainted with the disorder that can come with manning a kitchen, were there to help the lodge run smoothly. They helped cook and serve food to some 300 evacuees.
On Sunday night, they donated a meatloaf dinner, complete with mashed potatoes and mac and cheese for 250 people. It was also the first night the showers were at the Moose Lodge. “I was so excited because in my mind I figured these people would get a hot meal and a hot shower,” McKnight said.
The Boathouse’s staff was only the first of many local restaurants who donated both their food and time. Fresh and Bangin’ out of Lucerne served lunch for 300 people one day. Another day, Lakeport’s Cheese’s Pizza donated a spaghetti dinner. Jennifer Allen-Malinowski, owner of the Wholly Bowl in Lakeport, closed the eatery on Monday and took her entire crew to the Moose Lodge to prepare a taco bar for 400 people.
“She was standing there right next to our side volunteering the entire time,” McKnight said.
She added that Allen-Malinowski’s plan centered on preparing the freshest of meals, like a marinated cucumber salad, all crafted from donations to the Moose Lodge. Many people picked fruits and vegetables straight from their gardens and took them to the evacuation centers. “Jennifer’s main goal was to utilize as much of the produce that was donated because we figured that would go bad first,” McKnight explained.
And the Moose Lodge isn’t the only place that has received donations from local establishments. Cecil’s Pizza in Clearlake has taken hundreds of pies to various locations where evacuees are currently residing. On a few separate occasions, the staff took 40 pizzas to the Wal-Mart parking lot. They also donated a couple hundred to the Clearlake senior center and upwards of 200 pizzas to the Moose Lodge multiple times.
“We donate to the fire station like crazy throughout all three fires,” said Cecil’s Pizza employee Dolan Camburn.
Whenever staff showed up with pizza, the evacuee’s gratitude permeated the air. “They’re treating us like we’re superheroes,” Camburn said. “We couldn’t even walk out the door without hearing 40 thank yous.”
Handmade declarations of appreciation are also scattered around the Moose Lodge. “One person left a sign that says, ‘Thank you so much, God bless.’ Things like that happen,” said Moose Lodge member Peggy Seifert.
The Lodge has never once asked local businesses for a helping hand. It makes their donations even more moving. “We’ve had a lot of different people here helping … It’s amazing, all the people,” Seifert said. “We’re just happy with all the help that we do have here.”
It might be an understatement to say that the community support has been incredibly heartwarming. “The outpour from the community and the people we know … that’s what kept me going and kept us coming back,” McKnight said. “I was absolutely amazed at the support from the community.”
Though the first two days at the Moose Lodge were tough on the evacuees, McKnight noticed people growing at least somewhat more comfortable by the third and fourth days. She recalled the first night on the scene at the lodge. She said a woman showed up who’d been pulled from her burning car by Sherriff Brain Martin. The woman was devastated. She didn’t want to eat and she was hardly talking. McKnight said by the third day, the woman’s spirits had lifted, since a friend had shown up at the lodge to keep her company.
“It’s reasons like that I want to do this,” McKnight said. “This community is absolutely amazing.”
Many feel the county’s show of strength, especially of late, demonstrates that Lake County doesn’t really deserve it’s less than pristine reputation. “From what you hear, sometimes it seems like a hard place to be in,” Camburn said. “When something bad happens it’s amazing how our community comes together.”
McKnight also spoke passionately about the county. “I’m so proud of this community I can’t even stand it,” she said. “I will never, ever, as long as I live, let people talk bad about this community. They say good help is hard to find. Well, it was right there.”
There are a number of reasons to donate food, supplies and time, and for McKnight, it was all about giving back to the only place she’s ever called home. A long-time resident of Lake County, she’s been on the other side of displacement. “I’ve lived in this community my entire life. I have been evacuated from fires myself before. I have seen the devastation these fires can cause,” she said. “There are so many people I know who have lost their homes or were displaced. We just could not sit back and not do something.”
Similarly, Camburn gives back because he too has personal investment in these fires. His mother has been evacuated during all three recent blazes. “I think that’s the reason why I do what I do — to help out those who need it,” he said.
And even once the evacuees can go home, the local restaurants won’t be done doing everything they can to help. Cecil’s Pizza donates pies to the Clearlake senior center every month and will continue to do so. The Boathouse Bar and Restaurant is in the midst of planning a fundraiser for next Sunday, September 27, with 100 percent of the proceeds from that event slated to go to fire victims. McKnight will look especially at those who were uninsured or renting when they lost everything. Her goal is to raise $10,000. She’s planning to load money onto Visa cards and hand the pre-paid cards directly to those affected by the fire.
“We want to focus on the people that have nothing and nothing to even fall back on,” McKnight said.
McKnight and her fellow cooks have been more than happy to do whatever they can, now and in the future, for the people of Lake County. “We’re out there feeding everybody and that’s what we like to do,” McKnight said. “I was just glad to be a part of it and glad to be continuing helping.”
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
