Disaster Response

After the Flood: A Follow-Up on One Family’s Recovery in Paradise Park

January 12, 2026

By Allison Skoglind , Red Cross volunteer In the weeks leading up to Christmas, heavy downpours triggered an atmospheric river event that put residents of Paradise Park in Estacada on […]

Full Circle of Hope: 45 Years After Red Cross Saved His Life, He’s Lifting Oregonians Through the Storm

December 26, 2025

By Rebecca Marshall Dan Lam lives in Orange County, California but he packed up and came to Portland earlier this week to help people affected by the extreme weather and […]

From Survivor to Volunteer, More Red Crossers Inpired to Help After Devastating Floods

December 22, 2025

Written by Allison Skoglind, Red Cross Volunteer As floodwaters swept through communities in Washington state, American Red Cross volunteers from the Cascades region quickly answered the call, traveling far from […]

Red Cross Installs Peace of Mind for a Woman, who is Deaf, Displaced by an Apartment Fire

November 18, 2025

Written by Rebecca Marshall, Regional Communications Director On September 17, 2025, Heather Fenner was sleeping on the couch when she woke up to the smell of smoke and saw flames […]

Honoring Hispanic Heritage Month: Yarisa’s Red Cross Story (English & Spanish)

September 29, 2025

Written by Marisa Bevington, Volunteer For some of the Red Cross volunteers throughout the world, the seed to become part of the Red Cross,  was planted when they were adolescents […]

A Disaster Manager Looks Back on the 2020 Oregon Wildfires

September 8, 2025

Written by Patricia Griffiths, Cascades Communications Volunteer On September 7, 2020, high winds surged across Oregon, spreading a few small wildfires into multiple roaring conflagrations. More than one million acres […]

From Worry to Relief: A Sister’s Search Ends at a Red Cross Shelter

September 5, 2025

Written by Isabel Anderson, Regional Communications Manager The Flat Fire started the evening of August 21st in Jefferson and Deschutes County. Overnight, the fire grew exponentially from 8,000 to 21,000 […]

The American Red Cross is Ready for Wildfires, Are You?

August 20, 2025

By: Darrell Fuller, Oregon Red Cross Volunteer The American Red Cross responds to about 65,000 disasters every year and provides shelter, food, and hope for those impacted by severe weather […]

From Tornadoes to Wildfires, Kat Thiede Explains Why She Keeps Volunteering with the Red Cross

August 1, 2025

Written by Harriet Vanderbilt, Red Cross Communications Volunteer Kat Thiede has participated in many GAP (Group Activity Position) activities in her one and a half years of Cascades Region volunteering. […]

Meet New Regional Disaster Officer Kirsten Mandala

June 23, 2025

Written by Harriet Vanderbilt Cascades Region Red Cross is pleased to announce the arrival of Kirsten Mandala. She brings to Cascades a portfolio brimming with humanitarian and disaster risk reduction […]