Mustard Seed Ranch (OC Mission Rescue - Local Response Center)

For the Evacuees of California Fires
Most Current Update

As of November 1, 2007, the eleventh day of the Santiago Canyon Fire, it is estimated that there are more than 3,000 Orange County Residents who have experienced mandatory evacuation orders and at least 200 additional houses still at risk. OperationOC continues to receive calls asking for gas cards, food, motel vouchers, and clothing.

On October 29, OperationOC opened three Local Response Centers. We are providing food, clothing, gas cards, food vouchers and case management for as long as our resources last.

The stories of need from the evacuees are many. Today, two self-employed handy men who came in for assistance had to leave their work trucks and tools behind in the fire as they were evacuated without notice and thus had their work interrupted and pay stopped.

A young woman came in yesterday with her baby. She had been living at her boyfriend?s home in the canyon at the time of the evacuation. Through the stress of the fires her boyfriend left her and the baby to fend for themselves. She came to us in need of baby supplies, clothes for herself (she was wearing men?s clothes someone gave her) and food. When the fires are out and people are able to go home, she will still be without a home. We will continue to work with her at OperationOC.

We continue to be in need of funding to provide these services to our evacuees. We are asking for help from our funding partners. If you can help with funding, please call Jim Palmer at (714) 247-4301.

OperationOC is Orange County?s collaborative private/public partnership which has been re-activated to meet the needs of the Evacuees of the Fires Ravaging Southern California, involving more than twenty fires throughout the Counties of Orange, Los Angeles, San Diego, and the Inland Empire.

Led by the Orange County Rescue Mission, OperationOC has these non-profits as its partners.

Our current needs are non-perishable food items, grocery gift certificates, fast food certificates and gas cards. Please drop these items off at the Orange County Rescue Mission between 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM Monday through Friday, at One Hope Drive, Tustin, California, 92782. Additional information is available by calling (714) 247-4300.

Jim Palmer, President