Red Cross Must Account for Viejas Fire Donations

by Dianne Jacob

For more than 100 years, American Red Cross volunteers have fanned out across the globe tending to victims of earthquakes, famine, floods and fire. From the eruption of Mount Saint Helens to the recent floods in Houston, the national organization has established itself as the world's definitive assistance network in times of grave disaster.

Unfortunately, to victims of East County's 10,000 acre Viejas Fire, this dependable and wholesome image of the Red Cross has become as incendiary as the flames which tore through 33 homes and structures, killing family pets and leveling dreams in the community of Alpine on the morning of January 3, 2001.

At issue, is more than just the $400,000 the organization received in donations as a result of the Viejas Fire. The personal stories of fire victims raise alarming concerns about the organization's responsiveness, fund raising policies and perhaps most importantly, the Red Cross' financial and social accountability to donors and disaster victims alike.

In the initial hours of the fire, I worked alongside volunteers helping to calm anxious residents at the Alpine Community Center. We were thrilled when food and supplies poured in from area businesses like the tribal nations of Sycuan, Viejas and Barona, Alpine's Daniels Market and the Bread Basket Restaurant, McDonald's, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, four different East County pizza outlets, three different Mexican food restaurants, Sparklets Water, WalMart and the Clear Channel family of radio stations, to name but a handful.

As Alpine-area churches emptied their pantries and residents took up personal collections, we marveled at the generosity of the San Diego region. Indeed, the community's response to the fire was so uplifting, it was with great dismay that I began to receive letters from fire victims who were angry, confused and above all saddened by their experiences dealing with the Red Cross. Many shared with me that immediate calls for help were not answered.

A family whose home was destroyed said they'd been denied counseling and monetary assistance by the Red Cross because both husband and wife held jobs. Yet, the smoldering remains of their home were featured on the donation page of the Red Cross web site. Another couple who lost their home said they were upset when the Red Cross denied them immediate assistance on the grounds that the couple had insurance. The couple said they were furious when soon after, they received a letter in mail from the Red Cross asking for a donation.

A husband and wife who lost all their worldly possession when their rented trailer was destroyed said they were grateful to a local television news station for helping them find a place to stay the night. The couple said they were less than amused when volunteers from the Red Cross suggested they talk with reporters to make a plea for Red Cross donations.

Several victims did report Red Cross assistance in the form of vouchers. One victim, who lost his mobile home and two barns said he was given a rake, two shovels and a $50 voucher at Sears. Another, who lost a garage, a car and a portion of her home, said she was given a $110 voucher to Kmart.

Using the personal testimonies of the fire victims, I totaled the amount of monetary aid distributed by the Red Cross and arrived at a figure of less than three thousand dollars. So, when the local chapter began to publicize its $400,000 in donations, I immediately sent a letter to the San Diego chapter's chief administrative officer, Dodie Rotherham letting her know that the property loss to victims had been set at $1.8 million and urging her to use all $400,000 collected during the time of the Viejas Fire to benefit fire victims and the community of Alpine for damages and costs incurred during the fire. Red Cross officials, including Ms. Rotherham, agreed to meet with me.

At a meeting on May 10, it was explained to me that the chapter's mission is to provide immediate disaster relief, that the chapter responds to a disaster once every 23 hours in the San Diego region and that large events like the Viejas Fire bring in donations which often exceed the cost of an event's immediate response. Unless donations are earmarked for a specific disaster, the Red Cross said, the money is steered to the chapter's general relief fund.

Naturally, I asked the cost of the immediate response effort for the Viejas Fire. When the Red Cross said it distributed $150,000 in aid to Viejas Fire victims, I was surprised. If the community was responsible for a large amount of the donated food, clothing and services and victims of the fire received less than three thousand dollars in aid, I recognized the need for the agency to open its financial records. The victims deserve an explanation, I told the Red Cross.

At my request and to the organization's credit, the Red Cross agreed to meet with disgruntled fire victims to explain the organization's fund raising policies and to account for the $150,000 earmarked for the community of Alpine. The meeting was set for June 25, 2001.

What happened at that meeting would forever alter my perception of the Red Cross. Not only did the chief executive officer of the San Diego chapter fail to produce the promised accounting of donation expenditures, after listening to the harrowing experiences of fire victims and hearing their requests for additional community funding, Ms. Rotherham, the San Diego chapter's highest official, characterized the discussion as a - quote- "bitchfest." This flippantly insensitive remark has not endeared the organization to residents in San Diego's East County.

It has been a week and though the organization has promised, neither my office nor the victims of the fire have seen a full financial accounting of the Viejas Fire donations. This simple act of financial honesty on the part of the Red Cross would go a long way to restore our faith in an organization whose mission it is to help people in times of emergency.

It should be noted that flap over the Viejas Fire does not mark the first time a regional chapter of the Red Cross has been accused of questionable activities. When a powerful earthquake rocked San Francisco in 1989, then Mayor Art Agnos accused the Red Cross of funneling earthquake donations to its general fund after the organization collected $52 million but spent just $22 million in San Francisco.

In 1998, Minnesota's attorney general lambasted the Red Cross for not spending $4 million in donations earmarked for flood victims in North Dakota and Minnesota.

It now falls on the Red Cross to carry out the responsibilities outlined in its mission statement which reads "...the core of Red Cross disaster relief is the assistance given to individuals and families affected by disaster to enable them to resume their normal daily activities independently." Currently, the normal daily activities of Viejas fire victims have included resentment, mistrust and hostility toward the Red Cross. The organization now has the opportunity to restore its reputation and account for its donations. The Red Cross' credibility depends on it.