Shelters in Ramona Would Be Situational Says Red Cross

Any potential emergency overnight shelters identified in Ramona by the American Red Cross would not be revealed to the public in advance of an emergency, in case people go there instead of heeding emergency responder direction, according to a spokeswoman for the Red Cross on Tuesday.

The organization's communications manager, Brittany Gotschall, would not disclose whether any locations had been identified within Ramona or whether any supplies might have been staged in the area to help residents during any future disaster.

At Monday's public evacuation forum at Ramona Library, sponsored by County Supervisor Dianne Jacob and Sheriff's Lt. Julie Sutton, a panel of representatives from government agencies presented information about disaster preparedness. Kurt Luthye of the American Red Cross San Diego and Imperial Counties Chapter told the audience of about 150 people that the organization is "staging relief supplies around the county ahead of time."

Gotschall told Ramona Patch on Tuesday, "The Red Cross works consistently to get community partners to work together to identify possible shelters that could be used in the event of an emergency but we don't release that information to the public because it's situational."

For example, she said, the Red Cross would need to make sure that any identified building is safe following an earthquake. They wouldn't want the public to assume they could go there.

Gotschall said that in the event of an emergency in Ramona, residents should connect with media by going online or listening to the radio or television to get current information about shelters, or go to the American Red Cross website, where recommended shelters would be posted on the homepage. The Red Cross also has a Facebook page where it would post information, she said.

In a survey conducted by Committee for a Better Ramona, 90 percent of respondents said they would not evacuate if another firestorm hit Ramona but they would stay to protect their homes. The head of the committee, Bob Krysak, told Ramona Patch on Monday that agencies need to plan for that and that he would keep "dogging them" until they do.