PORT ANGELES — North Olympic Peninsula residents donated four horse trailers full of goods to firefighters and survivors of Eastern Washington wildfires.
The donations arrived Sept. 12 in Okanogan County, said Kim Beus, sales associate at Hartnagel Building Supply, who organized the donation drive.
More donations are being accepted to help fire survivors in Eastern Washington.
Beaus said the Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church Quilt Circle donated more than 40 handmade quilts “just as the call came in for blankets.”
Other donations ranged from clothing to school supplies to animal feed and a generator.
Four-year-old Drake Spence, son of Jamie and Tyril Spence of Port Angeles, contributed his own hand-drawn card of good wishes for firefighters, along with a tote full of supplies for firefighters and survivors.
Donations from Clallam County were delivered to the Okanogan Community Action Council’s North Star Distribution Center in Okanogan city, a central location where survivors from Twisp, Tonasket, Nespelem, Colville and Republic can “shop,” Beus said.
The center is on U.S. Highway 97 in the former Okanogan bingo center, which had fallen vacant due to a new nearby casino, she said.
‘Ladies in tears’
“The ladies were in tears seeing all of the wonderful donations from our county,” Beus said, “as their community hall was nearing empty.”
Kim and Curt Beus lost the home they leased in Omak to the Okanogan Complex Fire on Aug. 21.
Hartnagel Building Supply, 3111 E. U.S. Highway 101 in Port Angeles, will continue to collect donations “until the needs diminish.”
Hours are from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays.
Needed items
A list of needed items, plus PayPal and bank account information for cash contributions, is posted at the “Okanogan Fire Relief” link under the “Announcements” heading at www.angelesmillwork.com, the website for Hartnagel’s.
Needs include tents of all types, sleeping bags, camp stoves, bedding, paper goods, pet food and horse feed, flashlights and headlamps, batteries of all kinds, school supplies and new or gently used clothing and shoes.
Hand and power tools, boxes of screws and nails, and generators also are in demand.
Furniture is not being accepted due to limited storage space.
“This list will be updated weekly,” the website says, “until this fire dragon is conquered.”
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Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com.
