Firestorm evacuees in Walmart tents pack their bags after disassembling services

The Firestorm evacuees camping on an earthen ground next to a Walmart in Chico removed their tents and packed their newly handed business on Sunday, ready to leave but who do not know where.

Many of them live in the city of makeshift tents since the camp fire that erupted on November 8 and drove residents out of their homes Paradise and Magalia. But a volunteer operation at the retailer, which organized food trucks, clothes and showers, was closing Sunday afternoon, to push residents to adopt a more sustainable lifestyle.

"We have to go out, as far as I know," said Cindy Delano, a 60-year-old resident of Magalia, as her fiancé dismantled their tent. The two men planned to travel to the Bay Area and stay with his father, but the space is limited and they must be out in a few days.

No city, county or Walmart official officially removed the group, although many rumors around the camp suggested that this was the case. On Sunday, the situation on the site was confused and no official organization executing the operation, evacuees had to rely on word of mouth.

Some said they would migrate to a nearby Target parking lot, others planned to find beds with their families or in shelters, and a few said they would stay at Walmart.

"I mean, where am I going to go?" Asked Jason Young, a 38-year-old resident of Paradise, from inside his tent, among piles of donated clothes.

The volunteers invited him to visit a shelter in Yuba City, about 45 km south of Chico, which he described as a major inconvenience.

"The Red Cross, my replacement documents and everything is three blocks away," he said. "Why go all the way, when it's an act of God to bring all these agencies together in the same building?"

When the donations disappeared from Walmart, many migrated around the corner to an old Toys R Us parking lot. Local community organizations rented the building and turned it into a charitable center. Sunday afternoon, they collected tents to distribute to the evacuees.

In the midst of the horror of the increasing number of deaths and property damage caused by the Campfire Fire in Butte County, the evacuees were grateful for the acts of humanity. And maybe nowhere else these gestures were as obvious as at the Walmart of Chico.

Those who lost their homes and did not know where to go camping there. And those who did not know how to help otherwise followed, armed with food, clothes and shopping bags filled with personal necessities.

But what had to be a temporary solution evolved into a life of its own, and many people stayed around. Now, with new open shelters and gas cards in reserve, government officials and volunteers have urged locals to move into brick and mortar shelters designed for this type of tragedy.

"Everyone thinks we're pushing them or sending people to the door, it's a false verbiage," said Rob Busick, who became a volunteer organizer after arriving the first day with his food truck. "We try to help people. This is what we have been doing since the first day. "

The contamination of the air by incendiary smoke is unhealthy. Nighttime temperatures drop to 30 degrees. Forecasters predict rain on Wednesday and the grass field where tents are planted is prone to flooding.

Young said he understood why the park was closed, but a familiar community remains at hand.

"You can not see it now, on the other side of these trees, there is a ridge line – that's our house," Young said, pointing to the smoke. "It's our backyard. Many of us do not have a support structure. We do not have anyone … that's what we know.

This is a delicate subject for Walmart, as well as city and county officials.

They quickly insisted that there was no deadline for the evacuees to leave the premises, but on Sunday afternoon, there was no reason to stay there anymore. . At the end of last week, volunteers issued a notice stating that food, bathroom, lighting and other services would be removed by Sunday afternoon.

"The safety, health and safety of these people are paramount, and they deserve to be housed properly and to have the appropriate services to help them through this difficult time," said the director of the Chico town, Mark Orme, in a statement. "This is especially vital before temperatures are down and rain is no longer to be expected."

Walmart has hired a security firm to help manage the situation. Private guards watched with bullet-proof vests, but one of them said, "We are not told to fire anyone."

Many were already loaded Saturday afternoon. Ron Irick, 64, was testing the space limits of a borrowed minivan, blocking it with garbage bags stretched with donations. There were six bags and a box of clothes to go, and closing the trunk seemed already unlikely.

Still, a man who seemed to be in his sixties and a frail elderly woman approached him with gift cards. A few minutes earlier, girls arrived with a tray of sliced ​​packages.

"It's hard to say no to people," said Irick. "I've never really eaten so good."

The evacuee of Magalia was not disturbed by the second move. Irick, his girlfriend and Jojo – a little dog with Chewbacca's face – headed for a shelter in Yuba City.

"The Red Cross really helped us and found us a place," he said. They would stay there all night, and maybe with his brother after that, he said.

A stranger approached Delano while she was meeting with a Chronicle reporter on Sunday morning at Walmart, and handed her a $ 100 note. "Here's the gas money to get to the Bay Area," he says before leaving.

The gesture made Delano cry. "Oh my god, thanks!" She shouted after him.

"Can you believe that?" She says. "It's so kind of people here."