$1.25
your homegrown newspaper
Vol. 18, No. 47
August 10, 2022
Tribes pg.2
KRISTI NIEMEYER PHOTO
Community pg. 12
Community rallies to help with Elmo Fire response By Taylor Davison Valley Journal
Pioneer Days pg. 16
LAKE COUNTY — As the Elmo fire continues to impact many in the county, several ways for the community to help firefighters and those evacuated have become available. Evacuation orders at time of writing affect Camp Tuffit/West Shore
Road, while residents of Chief Cliff Lane, Black Lake Road, Big Meadows Road, Dayton Creek Road, and Lake Mary Ronan Road are under pre-evacuation. The Red Cross has two emergency shelters on standby for residents displaced by the wildfire, one at Polson High School at 1712 2nd Street West, and one at
Somers Middle School at 315 School Addition Road in Somers. These shelters provide a safe place to stay, meals, and community resources all for free. They are not seeking community assistance for the shelters at time of writing, but Red Cross Regional Communications Director Matt Ochsner commented, “We have volunteers
w w w.va l le yj our na l.net
on the ground ready to respond to emergencies thanks to the generosity of our community members. If people want to support our volunteers, they can go online to redcross.org, or call 1-800733-2767.” As for support for those emergency responders currently fighting the fire, the primary donations requested are
bottles of water, Gatorade or other electrolyte drinks like Vitamin Water, protein or granola bars, baked goods, easy-to-eat non-perishables, as well as wet wipes and saline eyewashes. Mission Valley Elks held a water drive through Aug. 9 at 512 Main Street in Polson, but are still accepting see page 2