The fire was put out two days ago. Barbee [the victims' last names in this article have not been revealed to protect their identities], who lives in a small town called Julian, northeast of San Diego, leads Tzu Chi volunteer Stephen Huang to her tiny community of Cuyamaca, south of Julian. Barbee tells him that in her community of more than 100 homes, only seven or eight were left undamaged.

Julian was founded at the beginning of the nineteenth century on a hill several thousand feet above sea level. It is a historical Indian village protected by the United States government, so firefighters tried their best to stop the fire that approached the town.

When our car circles the hills, we see large grassy areas burnt black. It isn't hard to imagine how big the fire was. Many homes were so completely destroyed that only the chimneys are left standing.

Barbee's home is located 5,000 feet above sea level, and from her home there is a perfect view of the whole community down below, including picturesque Lake Cuyamaca in the distance. This location is the highest point in San Diego County.

Barbee is 78 years old and has been living here for 35 years. Her husband died three years ago; since then, a dog and four cats have been her family. When she evacuated her home, she took the dog and the cats with her.

Now coming home after the fire, Barbee steps into the ruins. Her memory flashes back... She is heartbroken when she sees the old oak tree in her garden destroyed by the fire. It was more than 100 years old and by law could not be chopped down.

Even though everything has been burned, Barbee still recognizes each scrap and piece and knows its history, since these things were part of her life for so long.

A chandelier that hung six feet from the ceiling had fallen and smashed into pieces. Much valuable china had also shattered and disintegrated. On a shelf there seemed to be a row of small tires. Barbee told us that they were her children's toy trains. She couldn't carry them out when the fire came, so she had to let the fire engulf them.

Besides her dog, cats, and the oak tree, what Barbee cares about the most are the sweet memories behind the family belongings. "I would be more heartbroken if my sweet memories of the house had also been burned by the fire," she says. She is actually very optimistic and laughs whenever she says something funny. She is aware that all she has lost are material goods.

The sunlight shines through the thick smoke. Smoke wafts from the oak tree because of the heat that is still contained in its core. Stephen Huang picks up a container, scoops up some soil, and invites Barbee to put out those last embers with the soil, symbolizing farewell to the past.


The fire spread fast. Those who were lucky enough were perhaps able to pack up in 20 minutes and leave, but most people had to evacuate their homes in a hurry when helicopters hovering over their houses urged them to leave without a minute's delay. Some couldn't even drive their cars away.


The fires that started on October 21 in southern California spread from San Diego in the south to Los Angeles in the north. They killed 22 people, injured 174 people, destroyed close to 4,800 homes, and forced more than 95,000 people to flee their homes.

The four counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Ventura, and Los Angeles suffered the most damage. President Bush declared them all disaster areas and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was put in charge of the overall relief work.

It is estimated that the four counties had a total of 10 disaster areas that covered approximately 671,079 acres of land. Close to 13,000 firefighters were mobilized to put out the fires.

In early November, when most of the fires had been contained, survivors finally went home. Like Barbee, many of them knew that their homes had been burnt to the ground. There were few miracles.

After emergency shelters and service centers had been set up, Tzu Chi volunteers pitched in to help. They handed out soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, cups, blankets, pillows, drinking water, ice, bread, and emergency money among other things.

We went to the Julian city hall, which had been turned into a rescue center, and noticed some Tzu Chi members working there. Barbee is a volunteer there during the daytime. She helps organize the relief goods or tries to cheer up survivors by giving them hugs.

The fires had spread very quickly. Those who were lucky probably had 20 minutes to pack up and leave. However, many people were urged by firefighters to leave their homes without any delay, not even able to drive their cars away. Thus, some people left wearing only a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, unable to bring any ID cards or other important documents with them.

Although the United States has a well-established social welfare system, the victims still could not get any money or checks immediately even after filling out a huge pile of forms. People who had left their homes with nothing could not wait a couple of weeks to get checks from the government. They needed to get such simple things as toothbrushes and underwear right away. In doing relief work, Tzu Chi emphasizes "promptness" by immediately providing victims with emergency money. Checks worth anywhere from US$200 to $1,000 were able to help survivors with their urgent needs.

Jo, a female survivor, told us that after the fire had started, many organizations came with boxes of food and other goods, but Tzu Chi was the first organization to hand out checks to her and other fire victims.


A Tzu Chi volunteer wrote down their personal information with one hand while holding the hands of the survivors with the other. After expressing a few words of care and handing over emergency checks, the volunteer gave the survivors hugs...


San Diego was the hardest hit area. News of Tzu Chi's immediate distribution of emergency money began to spread by word of mouth as well as in the media. More and more people came every day to Tzu Chi stations to apply for money. There were countless applicants every day, and volunteers were too busy to take breaks because there weren't enough of them.

Volunteer Huang Lan-yuan wrote down survivors' personal information with her right hand while holding their hands with her left. Her eyes and body language expressed her concern and care. After writing down their information, she would ask the applicants to check it again on the form. Then, she would bow, hand over the check, say a few words of care and give the victims hugs. At that moment, the survivors would usually hug her back emotionally, which made Huang feel very touched and warm.

Huang occasionally took out a booklet and turned to the page about Master Cheng Yen. She would tell the survivors about the founding of Tzu Chi and the fact that all the money came from kindhearted donors.

If the money had come from people's taxes, the survivors would have thought that that was the way it was supposed to be. But after realizing that it came from the love of so many people, many of them were moved to tears. One said, "I thought that the money would be only $20, but I didn't expect it would be so much..." Most of the survivors were penniless, so emergency checks of $300 or $500 moved them to tears.

On this day, Tzu Chi volunteers handed out 125 checks in Julian. Many residents tightly hugged the volunteers for a long time. In the beginning, the residents and the volunteers didn't know each other; they were also of different nationalities and religious faiths. But the forest fire had fostered close bonds between them.

Tzu Chi volunteer Chen Chun-shan from San Jose listened to Fay describe her divorce and her longing for her children; Chen couldn't stop weeping and was almost unable to issue a check to Fay.

Another survivor, Cindy, held a volunteer's hands tightly; shivering and breathing heavily, she was unable to talk for a long time. She told us that before the fire, she only saw a helicopter hovering above her house and calling everyone to evacuate immediately. When she returned home after the fire, only the chimney was still standing...

Currently, Cindy lives in a trailer. She said helplessly, "I don't know what to do now since I have to start everything over from scratch." When volunteers showed their concern, Cindy sobbed and asked them to give a hug to Master Cheng Yen for her to show her appreciation.

Next to Cindy, Barbee was quietly organizing piles of relief items donated by the Red Cross and other kind people. Barbee said optimistically that her house had insurance and that she still had her dog, cats, and children, so she shouldn't feel sad.

People in America must purchase homeowner's insurance when they borrow money from the banks to buy their homes, so most survivors are able to rebuild their homes. However, they need time to do that. Barbee's children are in the construction business, so she plans on rebuilding her home after the winter.

In a big fire, even rich people can lose everything. Even if their homes are fully covered by insurance, rebuilding will still take at least a year.

Robert lives in Lakeside, San Diego, and his house was located on a hill on 0.62 acres of land. Except for the guest room and the storage room, which are still standing, everything else has been burnt down.

Robert remembers that he woke to the sound of burning trees at 3 a.m. and saw the fire still some distance away in Alpine. But by 9:30 a.m., the fire was approaching his home, so he hurriedly grabbed some pictures and ID cards and fled from his house. Twenty minutes later, the fire swallowed up his home.

Not only his home, but also the 14 vintage cars he had spent 30 years collecting were burnt. Like Barbee, Robert is heartbroken at the priceless memories. He clearly remembers the five weddings for his children and friends at his house; there were also parties and sad memorial services. His lively home was always full of people.

Robert received emergency money from us and began planning for the reconstruction of his home. Like he did 25 years ago, he will again take part in building his own home.


Beverly from the Employment Development Department said, "The checks issued at this moment are very important to people who have lost their homes, jobs, and money!"


In addition to Julian, Tzu Chi also set up service centers in Ramona, Poway, Santee, Crest, Alpine, Valley Center, San Bernardino, Camarillo, and Claremont.

Set up in an unused airport in San Bernardino, the Fire Emergency Local Assistance Center (FELAC) was a joint service center for the federal, state, and local departments of agriculture, unemployment, ID card services, insurance, and compensation. Tzu Chi was the only private organization there.

Many victims learned of Tzu Chi's services through TV, newspaper, and radio announcements and came to apply for emergency money. Even with ten service lines open to help almost 200 people each day, hundreds of people still came. Many people came to line up as early as 4 a.m., just hoping to receive the checks as early as possible.

Some applicants were unable to receive waiting numbers and couldn't get their checks the same day; they were so upset that they cried. One Tzu Chi volunteer, Mu Tsu-ping, also wept because she felt so sorry for them. But unexpectedly, the victims came to embrace her and told her not to worry. They were glad that Tzu Chi had given them hope and said they would come again early the following day.

People whose homes were completely or halfway destroyed received $500 checks; if they were tenants, they were given $300 checks. If they didn't have any documents to support them, Tzu Chi volunteers would either follow them to their homes to inspect conditions or would ask for information from the Red Cross or FEMA. Even the victims' neighbors, friends, or local churches would help with the inspections.

Chanese Witcher, the FEMA assistance center manager, told us that the intimacy and quick responses shown by Tzu Chi volunteers were important in bringing peace of mind to local residents. Many victims were most impressed by the Tzu Chi volunteers' zeal, modesty, friendliness, and discipline.

Beverly, who worked at the Employment Development Department at FEMA, said that she was touched to see Tzu Chi volunteers working so hard for the victims every day. She said that the checks Tzu Chi gave out to victims who had lost their homes, jobs, and money were very important.


Many victims indicated their willingness to pay back the money after their current problems had been solved.


In the San Bernardino service center, a handicapped female victim read through all of the Tzu Chi information a volunteer gave her while waiting to be served. Thus, when she sat down before the Tzu Chi counter, she asked, "Is it true that Master Cheng Yen really lived in that small hut when she began her mission of charity?"

After receiving her $300 check, she was moved to tears and said, "Your emergency money solves my current problems. I'll pay you back when I can."

One woman, who had already received her check, returned the next day in her wheelchair to tell the volunteers with tearful eyes, "You did what you said you would do!"

Between October 24 and November 20, Tzu Chi volunteers handed out 2,800 checks totaling $1.05 million dollars. The distribution of emergency money has now ended, although individual charity cases will continue receiving help.

Remone, a volunteer with FEMA, was touched to see Tzu Chi volunteers working for so many days until dusk. She donated $500 to support Tzu Chi. She said that she had never seen a private organization so caring, efficient, practical, and warmhearted in handing out emergency money. Another Red Cross volunteer also indicated that his biggest gain was knowing Tzu Chi, so he also donated US$100.

Many victims also donated small amounts of money like $5 or $10 to show their support to Tzu Chi after receiving emergency money.

Thus, a disaster touched off many actions of goodness. On November 7, the morning news on FOX TV in San Diego interviewed Ke Chi-she, deputy CEO of the Tzu Chi US branch. During the interview, the hosts described Tzu Chi as the "sweet charitable organization" because the volunteers would smile sweetly, hand out checks with both hands, and give hugs to the victims. All this left a great impression on many local people.

Even KTLA (the biggest TV station in Los Angeles), La Opinion (the largest local Spanish newspaper), and NBC TV news in San Diego reported on Tzu Chi. Sky Link TV, the largest Chinese TV station in America, also aired a 30-minute program about the foundation.

Tzu Chi volunteer Helen Hsu remarked that when the reporters were preparing their reports on Tzu Chi, they were very surprised to learn that the foundation is mainly formed of volunteers, that all money comes from donations, and that volunteers pay for their own expenses for food, accommodations, and transportation. Therefore, some TV stations decided to display the subtitle, "Please donate money to Tzu Chi" on the screen, which was unprecedented.


We saw US flags hanging in burned-out homes and ruins, and next to homes that were still standing were signs that read, "Thanks to all the fire crews!"


The relief work this time involved the largest mobilization of Tzu Chi volunteers in the USA since the 9-11 attacks in 2001. Distributions were carried out for 20 days. Such a long period of time indicated that there still weren't enough volunteers to help out in San Diego and Los Angeles. Volunteers would apply for short leaves from their offices or would participate in meetings every evening so that they could stay informed about the fire situation and relief work.

Tzu Chi volunteer Tzu Jen lost her voice after more than 10 days of distribution. After the meetings were over in the evenings, she would rush home hoping to see her husband before he went to bed. She usually left home very early in the morning and came home late.

Liu Ching-mei and several other Tzu Chi volunteers live in Las Vegas, about 350 miles from San Diego. They drove eight hours to assist local volunteers in California. Volunteers from San Jose and Phoenix also came to help out.

We often saw American flags or signs that read, "We shall return!" hanging in damaged homes or ruins. Some posters along the streets read, "God bless all of you!" However, in Crest, a small town 1,500 feet above sea level, there was a giant board that read, "Thank you Tzu Chi Foundation from Crest!"




Emergency Networking

By Li Wei-huang
Translated by Wu Hsiao-ting

When the wildfires ravaged Southern California in October, Tzu Chi volunteers acted right away to provide care and assistance to victims. How did Tzu Chi, a non-governmental charity organization from Taiwan, win the trust of local communities and obtain permission to enter shelters set up for wildfire victims? It was because of the long-term community services that Tzu Chi volunteers have been continuously providing, the relief work carried out by Tzu Chi after the September 11 terrorist attacks, and the recognition and approval of the Red Cross and the Salvation Army. The Southern California chapters of the American Red Cross invited the Los Angeles Tzu Chi Free Clinic Center to join ENLA (Emergency Networking Los Angeles), which is composed of the city government, the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, World Vision, and other charitable organizations. Tzu Chi is the only Buddhist and Asian charity organization in ENLA. As a member of ENLA, it was granted permission to participate in the wildfire relief operations.

Tseng Tzu Hui, a Tzu Chi volunteer in Los Angeles, has taken the relief operations training courses offered by the Red Cross many times. She said much could be learned from the disaster relief operations and mobilization efforts of the American government and the Red Cross. The wildfire victims service center is an example where dozens of booths were set up in the center by various government departments to provide all kinds of services that the victims needed, thereby saving them from having to rush about from one place to another. The service center was therefore called the "One Stop Shop."

In shelters opened for victims, one could see plenty of folding beds with blankets and teddy bears. There were also phones and areas where clothes, books, and food were offered.

The disaster relief control center, with its clear division of labor, was also impressive. People were divided into groups in charge of logistic support, donations, transportation, and administrative affairs. Nancy, a Red Cross worker, told us that nearly 13,000 victims had been placed into 1,700 shelters, and about 10,000 Red Cross workers had been mobilized to take part in the relief effort.

At the entrance to the control center was a volunteer training center, which provided systematic training to people interested in proffering their services. To ensure the quality of the volunteer force, careful evaluations were made to determine the eligibility of applicants.

On November 7, Tseng attended a community reconstruction meeting held by more than 30 organizations. Issues concerning the provision of counseling services to victims, reconstruction work, garbage disposal, and cooperation among the organizations were discussed. Tseng said that because many houses were completely destroyed, it was most urgent to take care of the needs of the child victims. There were shops willing to donate US$600,000 for the purchase of clothing for the children. There were also organizations covering victims' hotel expenses, providing legal counseling, settling insurance disputes, and taking care of employment problems.

The wildfires thus provided a chance for different charitable organizations to cooperate with and learn from each other.