CLEARLAKE OAKS >> Once again the Moose Lodge has “gone rogue,” opening its doors as an unofficial shelter in its efforts to help survivors of the Clayton Fire that devastated Lower Lake.
The lodge is one of four evacuation centers in the county and the only one not certified by the American Red Cross. That means the Moose Lodge receives no donations or money from the Red Cross or government agencies.
The official shelters are in a mix of venues, from a high school and a church to a gambling casino.
Yet at least three agencies seem to recognize the Moose Lodge and give it support: Cal Fire, the Novato Fire Department (NFD) and the not-for-profit group Community and Disaster Response Team from Sebastopol.
Representatives from Cal Fire and NFD were on hand Thursday afternoon to brief Moose Lodge volunteers and fire evacuees on the latest information on the Clayton Fire, bringing a topographical map that highlighted the burn area.
None of the representatives questioned Thursday said they were bothered by the lodge not being “official.”
“We came here to give the people an updated map and fact sheet,” said Stacey Nolan, a fire prevention specialist with Cal Fire in Sanger. “If people want information, we’re going to give it to them. We’re here for the public.”
Thursday’s info was good news: fire containment was up, fire growth was slow and most evacuation orders have been lifted, except for parts of Lower Lake.
The one question left unanswered at the time was when the remaining evacuees can go back to their properties.
“I don’t have an answer on that yet,” Nolan said on Thursday. On Friday at 4 p.m. authorities lifted the evacuation order. But for almost 200 families, the need for shelter remains.
Moose Lodge Number 2284 in Clearlake Oaks opened its doors to fire evacuees soon after the inferno began on Aug. 13. It did the same for evacuees during last year’s destructive Rocky, Jerusalem and Valley fires.
“We received tons of messages asking us if we were going to open for Clayton,” said Eric Austin, past governor of the lodge. ”A lot of people can’t get to where the official shelters are. So I made a few phone calls to my people and they showed up.”
About 175 people have registered at the Moose shelter, although about half that number had left by Thursday afternoon as more mandatory evacuation orders were lifted.
“A lot of people left when they opened The Avenues (in Clearlake) back up,” Austin said. “The people that are left can’t get back into Lower Lake.”
One reason the lodge has become popular with fire evacuees is that it welcomes pets, even inside the shelter, unlike the three official shelters in Lakeport, Kelseyville and Middletown.
“Pets are important for mental health,” said volunteer Rhiannon Garcia. “For many people, pets are their children and we’re here to help them take care of their pets.”
Garcia, like other volunteers, said she is not bothered by the shelter’s unofficial status. In fact, many volunteers seem to embrace it with pride.
“We are a community that takes care of the community,” Garcia said. “The heart of the community is not the government, it’s the people.”
Evacuee Anna Marie Correia of Lower Lake evacuated Sunday from her house at the end of Bonham Road.
“We still have a house,” she said Thursday.
Correia awoke Sunday (Aug. 14) to chaos. “I could see smoke everywhere and there were flames at the end of the road,” she said, sitting on a shelter cot with her husband, Gene, and two dogs, Petey and Chewie, nearby.
The couple do not have a vehicle and relied on a neighbor to bring them to the shelter.
“We’re here for the duration,” Correia said and added, “They have been absolutely amazing to us here. We were told at the other (shelter) sites that we couldn’t have pets. Besides, I have no desire to go to a casino. Here, they’ve treated us like royalty.”
She spoke about the importance of having her pets with her, rather than locked somewhere in a small outdoor pen or pet carrier.
“Our pets are our kids,” she said. “It’s very important to keep our dogs with us. They keep us calm.”
Talking with a reporter, Coreia said she had one message that she wanted people to know. “Make sure you tell the public that the people at the Moose Lodge are amazing.”
She had a somewhat muted response to the news that an arson suspect has been arrested.
“I’m just angry and hurt that someone would be so thoughtless of other people,” she said, shaking her head.
Cindia Barron frantically evacuated her Lower Lake house on foot about 1 p.m. Sunday with her three dogs, Gideon, Wyatt and Henry. Barron has no vehicle. She pulled a garden wagon with items she wanted to save in one hand and held the dog leashes in the other. Fire and smoke were all around her.
Fortunately, a good Samaritan gave the woman and dogs a ride to Austin Park in Clearlake. From there, she and the pups were taken to the Moose Lodge by her husband, who had been at work in Calistoga when the evacuation was ordered.
“I believe my house is still there,” Barron said. “But I have no idea what kind of condition it’s in.”
She said of the Moose Lodge, “I’ve never been treated so kindly. Everything we needed, they got for us.”
This included getting some aloe vera gel to treat burns one of her dogs, Gideon, received on its paws during the chaotic evacuation.
She echoed what many others at the shelter said, “My pets are my family and I would not have left without them. I said to myself to wait and that someone would help me and someone did.”
Barron added about the Sunday evacuation, “That was the worst day of our lives. But it’s good to know that there are people who care about strangers. There’s good people in this county.”
Local Moose Lodge Governor Tommy Teixeira chimed in, “The community knows they can trust us. They know they can always go to the Moose Lodge for help.”
The Moose Lodge is at 15900 East Hwy. 20 at the intersection with Hwy. 53.
The official evacuation centers, as of Friday, were Kelseyville High School, 5480 Main St.; Seventh-day Adventist Church, 3500 Hill Road East, Lakeport; and Twin Pines Resort and Casino, 22223 Hwy. 29, Middletown.
