GUESTS
Lloyd Ziel, Red Cross
BY ERIK HELLING -- Lighting started a wildfire last week in Carpenter Canyon in the Spring Mountains, just east of Pahrump. The fire expanded rapidly, forcing evacuations, and according to officials the fire won't be contained until July 19.
Lloyd Ziel, a spokesman for the Red Cross of Southern Nevada, says that the multiple reception centers in the area are being used mainly by residents seeking information, not shelter.
“We try to stock our center with the most up-to-date information that we have coming out of the Red Cross headquarters in Southern Nevada. We have a whole team of volunteers here that are dedicated to finding out information and making sure we’re getting it out to our volunteers as well as the folks that stop by in the centers,” said Ziel.
Ziel says the Red Cross is in need of funds, since many potential donors are reluctant to trust a non-profit organization. Also, he says the Carpenter 1 fire will likely take the organization past the $300,000 budgeted for fire relief this year. He adds that giving cash is an efficient way to help those affected by the fire.
“For example, if someone wants to donate a pallet of water and they drop it off in North Las Vegas, then the Red Cross has to use time, people, and resources to get half of it over to Pahrump,” says Ziel.
The blaze is expected to be contained sometime next week, so the Red Cross of Southern Nevada is looking ahead to the aftermath of the fire, having already ordered clean up kits for the residents of the Mount Charleston area.