RENO, Nev. — In an effort to provide a safe space for evacuees who escaped the Caldor Fire, the Reno-Sparks Convention Center has been turned into a shelter.
Guided by the light of a dark orange sky Richard and Carolina Matera showed ABC10 a cell phone video of their evacuation from South Lake Tahoe on Monday.
“Well it’s seven o’clock at night and it looks like it’s nighttime. So it was pretty eerie, pretty sickening actually,” Richard Matera said.
The Matera’s along with thousands of others packed their essentials and headed north when the order became mandatory.
According to the latest figures from Cal Fire, the Caldor Fire has burned more than 214,000 acres and is 37% contained.
“It’s a terrible feeling you know you don’t know if you’re going to return you don’t know what to bring,” Richard Matera said. “You’re looking at your house and your yard and thinking, you know this might be the last time I see it,” Caroline added.
The Matera’s passed time by becoming Red Cross volunteers for the temporary shelter inside the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. It's something they’ve done before but never in service of their own community.
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“It’s definitely a new dynamic for us because these are our neighbors and fellow citizens of South Lake Tahoe so it’s definitely very different than what we’re used to.”
As of Saturday, the Reno shelter inside the convention center is housing more than 200 evacuees and they’re just one of the many cities and towns across the region offering similar services.
“I have no family, so I am very attached to my pet. And when you get that taken away it’s quite a jolt,” said Susan Owens a long-time South Lake Tahoe resident.
Owens says she left her dog with a volunteer organization in order to qualify for a bed at the Red Cross Shelter in Reno. Saturday evening marks her sixth night away and she says she’s prepared to stay longer.
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