A short drive along Red Rock Road is all you need to see the damage from the Bug Fire.
Some homes are still standing in this area, but some neighbors watched everything they worked for go up in smoke.
The damage hits home for Keegan McGhie, co-founder of the Going Batty quilt shop.
"Keegan grew up in Red Rock. He knows a lot of the families in that community that have been affected by that,” says assistant manager Grace Ragozzino. “He is just devastated by seeing everybody that he knows just lose so much."
According to a post on the shop's Facebook page, McGhie lost his own trailer to the fire, which he says pales in comparison to the pain others are feeling.
McGhie was unavailable for an in-person interview this weekend, but he and his team are able to give back in a small but meaningful way.
Going Batty is holding a quilt drive through this Wednesday, August 19.
“If you have a quilt that has been made with love … you have something to wrap around yourself to just know that somebody has made this with their hands, and that they're reaching out to you in spirit with this quilt to show you you're not alone,” Ragozzino says.
you can donate either a finished quilt or a quilt top, or volunteer to stop by to sew or finish a quilt at home.
“I only have two long arms here to be able to use,” Ragozzino says, “and if somebody is willing to take a few of those [quilts] home to get them done, we've got people that are willing to bind. If you're willing to bind, I can always use more."
10% of all revenue the business collects until Wednesday will be donated to local firefighters and charities.
Ragozzino says this is not something they're doing for attention, but instead to restore some comfort to this community.
“We can't replace their homes. We can't replace all of their memories and stuff that they've lost,” she says. “But we can at least wrap them in a nice, warm quilt and show them we see them. We know it's hard."
If you’d like to donate or volunteer, you’re asked to call the store for more details at 775-351-2424. Their store is located at 9744 South Virginia Street, Suite C, in Reno. They are closed Sundays.
