Fire Evacuees Now Living In Parking Lot Tent Cities Dealing With Harsh Conditions, Aggressive Norovirus Outbreak
Evacuees huddled together for warmth as temperatures dropped to near freezing this week. Many are dealing with nightmares from their evacuation, others have been sickened with a virus that's spreading quickly through the evacuation camps.
Los Angeles Times:
Made Homeless By Flames, Camp Fire Evacuees Face Hardship, Disease And Desperation
Don Hardin burrowed between blankets in his SUV, and switched on the heater whenever the shivers returned. Even during the day Thursday, the 81-year-old Camp fire evacuee, who has arthritis, struggled to stay warm. When temperatures dropped near freezing Wednesday night, Hardin popped a sleeping pill. (Santa Cruz, La Ganga and Gerber, 11/15)
The Washington Post:
Norovirus Sickens Camp Fire Evacuees In Chico California Shelter
Nearly two dozen people who evacuated to escape the devastating Camp Fire in Northern California have been sickened by a contagious virus that has spread through an emergency shelter, officials say. Lisa Almaguer, a spokeswoman for the Butte County Public Health Department, said Thursday in a statement that 21 people being housed at the Chico Neighborhood Church Shelter have tested positive for norovirus, an extremely contagious virus known to spread easily, causing vomiting and diarrhea. (Bever, 11/15)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Thousands Of Camp Fire Evacuees In Shelters, Tents Face Long Wait For Normalcy
Tents sprawled in a parking lot. Cots jammed side by side at a fairgrounds. Desperation on the faces of the parents and children with nothing but smoking ruins to go home to. The devastating Camp Fire that wiped out the town of Paradise and savaged neighborhoods for miles around in Butte County has shoved 52,000 people out of their homes. And with roads closed and flames still devouring area forest lands, there is no timetable for when they might be able to either go home or find some semblance of normalcy in a new place. (Asimov and Fagan, 11/15)