Berryessa CERT helped the Lake Berryessa Senior Center stand up a Charging Center.
Berryessa CERT is always ready to help out our community in times of need. This October was no exception as high fire conditions prompted a PG&E Public Safety Power Shutoff starting on October 9th, 2019.
Berryessa CERT was activated to help the Lake Berryessa Senior Center setup and staff a Charging Center at the Senior Center building at 4380 Spanish Flat Loop Road from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM on October 9th and 10th.
Shelly van Rijn, Berryessa CERT Team Leader, helped CeCe Short and Lori Baugh set up the Charging Center on October 9th. With the power out in Circle Oaks, Berryessa Highlands, Capell Valley and all of West Berryessa including Berryessa Pines, it was essential that we set up the generator so that we could provide power for our residents charging needs. Napa County had supplied us in advance with a generator, fuel, cots and bedding packs in case we needed to set up an evacuation center or in this case a charging center.
Together we set up power strips with USB and plug in options for both cellphone or medical device charging. We had hot coffee, bottled water and snacks available. The commercial sized refrigerator was also plugged in ready to provide refrigeration for medications.
Berryessa CERT team members Shelly van Rijn and Joe Sponseller helped staff the Charging Center on October 10th along with CeCe Short and Lori Baugh. CeCe and Lori were great hosts and welcomed all the residents and made them feel at home. Berryessa CERT was there to provide support with documentation and medical first aid.
This is what we do - support our community in any way that we can. Residents seemed relieved to see us there in our green vests knowing that we look out for them. They thanked us for our service. - Shelly van Rijn, Berryessa CERT Team Leader
Twenty-three residents took advantage of the services over the two days the Charging Center was open. Some brought their work in and set up at one of the tables and another used the commercial kitchen stove to heat up a meal. Mostly, residents were just relieved to come in an talk and take off some of the stress high fire conditions have put us in.
Berryessa CERT - working together with our community in times of need.