The new evacuation shelter is in place at the Neil Road Recreation Center. Evacuees can expect all the same resources offered at the previous center but this time it's more spacious.
Tiandra Rushing, executive director for American Red Cross Northern Nevada, says, "Right now our main priority through the Red Cross is shelter, feeding, and water. So, making sure everybody has access to that."
Rushing says you do not need to stay the night to access any of these resources. Lots of people come in just for a meal, snack, a cool place to rest, or even to just charge their electronics. With the help of Washoe County Animal Services, evacuees can bring their pets with them to the shelter to reduce stress during this challenging time.
Red Cross also has mental health volunteers on standby just in case people need someone to talk to. The evacuation shelter is open 24 hours a day so if you need to leave your house in the middle of the night their doors will be open.
Rushing says their evacuation shelters will never get too full and will do whatever it takes to accommodate every person being impacted by the fire.
"In this moment we are ready to serve 500 clients. If those numbers do grow and change, we will be ready for that as well. We have backup plans already in place and additional resources that are coming into our community as we speak."
American Red Cross is accepting donations and volunteers to help evacuees during this challenging time.
