Wildfire victims left with nothing get hope from donated RVs

A man and his daughter are bringing donated motorhomes to people who have lost everything in wildfires in the American West

QUINCY, Calif. -- Clutching a bag full of duct tape and snacks, Woody Faircloth climbs aboard a motorhome complete with carpet and drapes. At his side, his 9-year-old daughter, Luna, quizzes a family who has just donated the recreational vehicle, appropriately called Residency. In the distance, above hills dotted with sagebrush, smoke billows from the second-largest wildfire in California history.

Father and daughter drive west an hour where they deliver the 35-foot (11-meter) RV to its new owner — a volunteer firefighter who lost his home in August when the Dixie Fire leveled most of historic downtown Greenville, a tiny Northern California mountain town dating to the gold rush era.

The vehicle is the 95th that Faircloth has delivered to wildfire victims. Run entirely on volunteer efforts and donated RVs, the nonprofit EmergencyRV.org fills a gap for victims who often wait months for emergency housing, Faircloth said.

“We’re grassroots; we can move a lot faster than that. It’s people helping people. … We can get there almost immediately,” he said.