LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Farm Bureau and Redwood Credit Union Community Fund are offering help to Valley fire survivors who are getting started on rebuilding fences for livestock and large animals.

The Farm Bureau is disbursing $100,000 made available by the Redwood Credit Union, according to Farm Bureau Executive Director Brenna Sullivan.

Robin McKenzie, senior vice president of marketing and communications for Redwood Credit Union, said the Redwood Credit Union Community Fund Inc. has allocated the money from the Lake County Fire Victims Relief Fund.

That fund – which is a partnership of the credit union, state Sen. Mike McGuire's office and the Press Democrat – has raised $2.2 million from more than 12,000 donors, McKenzie said.

Sullivan said the fencing funds are given out in $1,000 increments via gift cards that can be used at Lake County businesses.

She said the goal is to not only help local fire survivors and their animals get back home but for the funds to stay local and benefit the business community as well.

As of Monday, Sullivan said they had approved 46 applications for a total of $46,000, with another 10 applicants now under consideration.

“We're in the process of evaluating if the full amount is going to be needed,” Sullivan said of the fund. “I suspect that it is and people are in all different stages of recovering.”

She said she believes some people haven't even gotten to the point of assessing their needs in the wake of the destructive fire, which burned more than 76,000 acres and destroyed nearly 2,000 structures, including more than 1,300 homes, from Sept. 12 to Oct. 6.

“The scale and scope of what has been lost is just enormous,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan, herself a horsewoman, said $1,000 may not go terribly far when it comes to rebuilding fencing that has been built up over years. One survivor got a bid of $90,000 to rebuild their lost fencing.

However, she said it's a start to get people back on their feet and help them secure their large animals and livestock.

She put together a committee that is helping review applications, with assistance from Lake County Animal Care and Control Director Bill Davidson.

Assistance is open to those who don't have insurance as well as those who do, she said.

She said the future of the fund is open-ended, with the possibility that more funds may be made available if a need is demonstrated.

She said Redwood Credit Union has been “really amazing” in the help it has offered to fire survivors in the recovery process.

Sullivan said the ranching community – primarily located in the south county – has been heavily impacted not just by the Valley but also by the Rocky and Jerusalem fires earlier in the summer.

Also hit hard was the large equestrian community in and around Middletown, Sullivan said.

In terms of animal density and population, the Valley fire “probably went through the worst area” that it could have, said Sullivan.

In the initial weeks of the fire, Sullivan estimated she was fielding about 70 calls a day about a variety of needs including hay donations, which she channeled through Sonoma Action for Equine Rescue, or SAFER, which continues to offer assistance to fire survivors.

SAFER member Carleene Cady of Lakeport stepped up and has been overseeing the local disbursement of help for livestock and horse owners, as Lake County News has reported. She can be reached at 707-349-1993 by those who still require assistance.

“She's done an incredible job with it,” said Sullivan.

Sullivan said that along with their barns and fencing, people lost tack and equipment that had been built up over time. Fencing and shelters, she noted, are just a small part of the infrastructure it takes to raise, keep and care for animals, especially the larger ones.

Anecdotally, she's hearing about a lot of people who may be deciding to leave the area rather than staying and rebuilding.

“It's going to be interesting to see who ends up rebuilding,” she said. “I don't think any of us can predict that right now.”

The application for fencing assistance can be downloaded from the Lake County Farm Bureau Web site, www.lakecofb.com , filled out and mailed to the Farm Bureau at 65 Soda Bay Road, Lakeport, CA 95453; faxed to 707-263-1101; or emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Sullivan said it's hoped the assistance will help people get back on their feet and care for their livestock and animals.

“That's really important to a lot of people,” she said.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.