LOWER LAKE >> Some of the hundreds of people displaced by the Clayton Fire say they feel like the fire survivors that time forgot since so much attention is still focused on those affected by last year’s Valley Fire.
However, there is at least one place in town where anyone — human, canine or feline — who lost their residence in the Clayton inferno is welcome: the Lake Street Lodge Distribution Center.
The center opened shortly after the fire ravaged both commercial and residential areas of Lower Lake in August, acting as a distribution center for general supplies, including food, water, toiletries, pet supplies, clothing and even furniture.
Now, the center is transitioning away from distribution of general supplies to more focused tasks, particularly operating a small food pantry, a pet supply pantry, a wish-list fulfillment center and a place to get a hot dinner.
“We want to wind down our distribution and concentrate on hot meals,” said Terri Larsen, center director. To do this, “We need cooks and we need donations of prepared food, ready to serve, potluck-style.”
She added, “We decided to shift our focus from accepting donations to more of a wish-list situation. We have very little space for storage.”
Her decision was also influenced by the closing last month of a program at the Brick Hall that offered Clayton Fire’s displaced people free hot meals three times a day.
“A lot of people miss the hot meals,” Larsen said. “So I decided that we could do one hot meal a day. There seems to be enough interest to make it happen.”
But since the lodge doesn’t have the health department permits necessary to prepare food on-site, it decided to offer a potluck-style hot dinner every night.
“It’s a private event by invitation only and is not open to the public,” Larsen said. To get an invitation, persons must contact the center and be on the official county list of about 300 houses destroyed by the Clayton Fire.
Dinner is currently being served to a small number of Clayton survivors but the service will be expanded as word of it gets out and as more people volunteer to both prepare and serve the meals, Larsen said.
The center is staffed by Larsen and volunteers, including regulars Leah Scarbrough of Lower Lake and Cindy Midkiff of Clearlake.
“It’s the volunteers that have been making this happen,” Larsen said. “We’ve received no help from the county.”
Larsen started the non-profit group Animal Assist and Rescue Inc. following the Clayton Fire, rescuing animals and trying reunite them with their owners or adopt them out. It rapidly evolved into a multipurpose organization helping people as well as pets.
“We soon realized that nothing was set up for people who wanted to donate or help,” Larsen said. So the center began accepting almost any kind of donation but since their storage space is limited, they quickly became overwhelmed. Some of the donations were useful, many were not.
“We ended up with a lot of stuff that was garbage,” Larsen said. “We have someone come by every two weeks to pick it up.”
Larsen said the lodge may soon open up the donated items, especially clothing, shoes and winter coats, to survivors of any of the Lake County wildland fires in the past two years.
About 70 to 80 families have made use of the center’s services, Larsen estimated. The center is still accepting donations of food and pet supplies but little else. Clothing donations are not being accepted.
“We’re asking people to call us if they have a donation and we’ll see if we can match it with someone’s wish list,” Larsen said.
Among items most needed for the food pantry, Larsen said, are cereal, bread, non-perishable staples, canned meat and fish along with packaged meals, such as macaroni and cheese.
“We need a lot of pre-packaged, ready-to-eat food items because some people don’t have a way to cook,” Larsen said.
She also said the pantry needs food items for people with special diets, including vegetarian, vegan, kosher and organic.
“We would love to have more natural, organic and vegetarian packaged foods,” Larsen said. “We also need fresh fruit and vegetables.”
The pet pantry has cat and dog food, cat litter and litter boxes, toys, pet carriers and cages, although supplies of dry cat food and litter are low and donations are needed. All supplies are free to those displaced by Clayton.
“We will need cat and dog food and supplies on an ongoing basis,” Larsen said.
The center has even helped one exotic pet — an African grey parrot — that a Good Samaritan donated specialty food for.
Larsen said the center will remain open as long as there is a need for it. Referring to the Clayton Fire, she added, “In everyone’s mind, this thing is over. It’s very frustrating.”
The center, which also serves as the office of the online Lake County Magazine, published by Larsen, is at 4466 Lake St. in Lower Lake. The telephone number is (707) 701-6029.
