Recovery Resource Center for fire evacuees now open in Santa Cruz

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION)

A recovery resource center for people impacted by the recent wildfires is now open at the Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz.

Various organizations and agencies such as FEMA , the California DMV and the Red Cross are providing people with connections to resources for housing, food assistance, medical services and more.

One of the evacuees lost his home in the CZU Lightning Complex fires and said he received guidance at the resource center on what steps he needs to take to begin rebuilding.

Another family said they showed up to get information on the status of the area's environment to see if it was safe for them to return home.

The family says they have been evacuated ten days and spent much of that time in shelters and hotels.

"So many resources at our disposal, I think I'm going to be more appreciative of my home," said Felton resident Barnard J. Leon-Guerrero.

Santa Cruz Communications Manager, Jason Hoppin, said the evacuation of more than 45 thousand people in Santa Cruz County during the fires was a challenge and that more work still has to be done.

“We’ve never had to do anything like that before, it’s the size of a medium city. We’ve been able to repopulate some of these areas and we’re going to continue to do that but some of these heavily impacted areas in the San Lorenzo Valley, it’s going to be a long time before people can go home," says Hoppin.

Hoppin says damage assessments are still being conducted in the fire zones.

The Recovery Resource Center is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day, no appointments needed.

To access information to more shelters and resources, visit http://www.santacruzcounty.us/FireResources.aspx