Red Cross sets up shelter in school

The Apple Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross has opened an emergency shelter at the Grand Coulee Dam Middle School.

By day, the school’s gymnasium is the center of activity for more than 200 students.

By night, the gym floor houses a number of emergency cots for those who have either been burned out of their homes or have been ordered to evacuate.

Two volunteer workers, Pat Grentz and Lyn Foley, both from Wenatchee, were manning the shelter Tuesday.

“We haven’t had any activity yet, but we are open and ready to help people,” Grentz said.

They anticipate that the shelter will receive people needing help on the heels of a report by Douglas County Emergency Services that one home near Grand Coulee has been consumed by flames. It is the first report of a home being razed by the Barker Complex Fire.

The two have an emergency resource truck from Brewster at the middle school site.

It is one of several emergency shelters the Apple Valley Chapter has set up to help people.

Foley said that the fire near Wenatchee is “right across the Columbia River from where I live.”

The two stated that the Red Cross needs volunteer workers from this area. If someone is interested in serving, they can drop by and visit with the two Wenatchee volunteers.

Meanwhile the Red Cross shelter is open and ready to assist people.

Lyn Foley, left, and Pat Grentz, both of Wenatchee’s Apple Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross have opened an emergency shelter at Grand Coulee Dam Middle School. Emergency cots are available for those needing a place to stay.