STORMS UNITED COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS PITCHED IN TO HELP DISPLACED RESIDENTS.Byline: Daily News SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - The heavy rain that recently devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. many areas of the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. proved to be an opportunity for the entire community to come to the aid of the victims. Volunteers from the Santa Clarita Service Center of the American Red Cross American Red Cross: see Red Cross. , with mutual aid from the Greater Los Angeles chapter, opened and ran a shelter for storm victims for 13 days. ``This was the longest-running shelter in Los Angeles County since the Northridge Earthquake,'' said Kelli Donigan, response program manager for the area that includes Burbank, the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. and Santa Clarita. A total of 155 Red Cross volunteers cared for 127 residents who were provided with shelter, food, clothing and mental-health counseling. More than 11,000 meals were served at the shelter and at temporary meal sites at the Polynesian and Paradise Ranch mobile home parks. About 155 homes were damaged by the storms, including 69 left at least temporarily uninhabitable. In addition to providing temporary shelter at Hart High School Hart High School may refer to:
David Sandoval, a resident of the Polynesian Mobile Home Park in Newhall, organized his neighbors who helped load and unloading supplies, set up cots and keep the shelter clean. Sandoval also helped translate, speaking to the press and making bilingual announcements to the shelter population. ``David was a spontaneous Red Cross volunteer and the best I have ever seen,'' said Wilmer Pittman, who volunteered at the shelter. Hart High School student Nadia Vargas mobilized the Explorers to work in the shelter and also helped in bilingual communications. ``It was a huge team effort and the Red Cross is extremely grateful to all who contributed,'' Pittman said. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Leo Cruz, left, and Ramone Aguilar carry bottled water to a shelter at Hart High School during the January storms. Red Cross volunteers cared for 127 Santa Clarita Valley storm victims who lost their homes or access to them. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer |
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