With the wildfire season fast approaching, more than 60 Red Cross volunteers pitched in at a spring cleaning work party on June 19 to organize the thousands of disaster relief supplies needed to operate numerous Red Cross shelters simultaneously.

Volunteers took inventories, sorted, packed and replaced a variety of items including cots, blankets, comfort kits, toilet paper, absorbent disposable bath towels — and everything else needed to house thousands of people who may be displaced from their homes, often for several days. Specialty gear such as kitchen support and disaster service technology equipment is also stored in the dozen 20 ft. by 8 ft. containers stowed in donated space at the Anheuser-Busch facility in Van Nuys.

The Red Cross has every reason to get prepared now: In Aug. and Sept. 2009, thousands of wildfire evacuees fled to 9 Red Cross shelters as a result of the Station fire — the largest blaze in L.A. County’s history.

The event was coordinated by disaster volunteer Mark Lim who spent more than a month mapping out the space needs and other details to ensure that the 4-hour event ran smoothly. Some surprises did await the volunteers: expired heater meals, 10-year-old paperwork and flares from 1985.

Scott Underwood, assistant director of Operations for the Greater L.os Angeles chapter, applauds Anheuser-Busch for its willingness to provide space for the massive containers: “Now, we have 24-7 access to our supplies, and we’re ready to go at a moment’s notice,” said Underwood.

In addition to Red Cross disaster volunteers, other community volunteers assisted in the effort, including four members of the Palos Verdes-based Los Hermanos Organization. The teenage boys went through hundreds of comfort kits, replacing expired toothpaste with fresh tubes donated from Target. “They were helping disaster clients they won’t ever know,” said Eric Brubaker, Logistics manager, “which is what the day was all about.”

Sponsors who made the event a success include Toyota, who loaned a forklift to help move palettes of supplies from the cargo trucks to the large containers, and Franks Famous Kitchen and Bakery, who provided the volunteers with lunch.