By Mary Jo Blackwood, American Red Cross of Colorado and Wyoming Public Affairs
The American Red Cross is masterful in its ability to build partnerships that meet needs while using scarce resources more wisely. That allows each organization to do what they do best and outsource other services to fill gaps in needs during disaster recovery.
Stephanie Munoz, a disaster program manager for American Red Cross Wyoming has seen those partnerships in action and has decided to get a taste for what other organizations do and who follow up on initial Red Cross services. She had planned to use her PTO (paid time off-vacation) this year to volunteer with Team Rubicon, working out of Grand County on a project that is partially funded by our 2020 wildfire long-term recovery funds.
“Red Cross handled sheltering and many other services for the Troublesome Fire. Team Rubicon is coming in to do clean-up of the burn scar areas, putting out hot spots and doing further fire mitigation in at-risk communities for further fires. Team Rubicon was originally an organization for veterans of the Armed Services and since I am also a veteran, I wanted to be a part of what they do.”
Munoz would have been with the project for six days, sleeping in a gym reserved for the project in Granby, CO. She says this was a great opportunity to get cross-trained with other organizations, training not available through Red Cross, such as sawing for the chain saw crew. In return, Munoz provided Red Cross training for 18 Team Rubicon volunteers in CPR and Stop the Bleeding. She likes the fact that the volunteers can be cross-trained and that Red Cross and their partners can recruit for each other. “I may have a Red Cross volunteer who is doing things for us but wants more hands-on experience in fire mitigation, so he can volunteer for Team Rubicon as well.”
The Red Cross has provided grant funding for a large wildfire mitigation and recovery operation within Grand County, Colorado. In an operation called Rage Against the Ravine, Team Rubicon will be helping at-risk residents near Granby, CO to prevent another wildfire, by reducing wildfire hazards, help them assess and clear home ignition zones, and create fuel breaks in high hazard areas, those that threaten evacuation routes and homes. To aid in the recovery from the East Troublesome Fire, Team Rubicon will also remove fire hazard trees and build erosion control systems. For now, Team Rubicon will focus on the communities of Winter Park Highlands, Alpine Park, and Alpine Acres. These communities were evaluated with Very High wildfire hazard ratings in the 2015 Grand FPD No.1 Community Wildfire Protection Plan. If money and manpower, allow, the team has identified other communities for evaluation of work, including Ice Box, Sky View, Moose Run, Sunset Ridge, Hideaway Village, and Winter Park Ranch.
Although logistics within Team Rubicon meant Munoz couldn’t participate this time, she still sees the Team Rubicon experience as a great way to build friendships among organizations. “Being a veteran can be difficult for many. Working with Red Cross and Team Rubicon is something concrete they can do to contribute to the community and use the many skills and training they received in the military.”
Sidebar: What is Team Rubicon?
A fairly young organization, Team Rubicon had its beginnings with the January 2010 7.0 magnitude earthquake that decimated Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Suddenly, thousands of people were injured, infrastructure destroyed, and people made homeless. Based on the news, many of the traditional aid organizations were slow to respond because of unstable conditions. Troubled by what they saw and wanting to help, two Marines, Jake Wood and William McNulty, decided to act.
Wood and McNulty, along with a small group of veterans and first responders gathered supplies and deployed to Haiti. That was the start of a veteran-based volunteer organization that now numbers 65,000 members and deploys all over the world. When asked where the name came from, the founders cited Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon at the head of his legions when we marched on Rome. The Rubicon marked the point of no return. “Crossing the Rubicon” has survived as a reference to any group committing itself to an unsure course of action.
Team Rubicon focuses on populations often overlooked or underserved by traditional aid organizations and works with other organizations to help underserved communities impacted by disasters. The Red Cross is proud to have Team Rubicon as one of their partners.
