AFT Members Hit by Wildfires in Southern California

Contributions are urgently needed for the many AFT members across Southern California who have suffered devastating losses in the state's recent wildfires. More than a dozen fires have scorched communities from San Diego County to north of Los Angeles, leaving neighborhoods looking like "moonscapes" and "hell on earth," AFT eyewitnesses report.

A home sits burned in the Rancho Bernardo section of San Diego, after being hit by a wildfire. AP Photo/Ric Francis

Almost a million people were evacuated in the October disaster, with home and property losses hitting hundreds of thousands of Californians, including many AFT members. The full scope of the tragedy won't be known until the fires are extinguished and evacuees return to their communities. But early reports show the California wildfires had destroyed homes and affected members from several locals, including the Poway Federation of Teachers, San Diego Adult Educators, AFT Guild-San Diego Community Colleges, College of the Canyons Part-time Faculty, Palomar College Faculty Federation, and Palomar College Council. The list is almost certain to grow as more details become available.

You can help fellow AFT members reclaim their lives from these losses by contributing to the AFT Disaster Relief Fund, Attn. Connie Cordovilla, 555 New Jersey Ave. N.W., Washington DC 20001. Contributions are tax deductible.

October 26, 2007