NorCal TRN®: Swift Response to the Park Fire Crisis

The Park Fire in Northern California, which started July 24, 2024, at Upper Bidwell Park, has destroyed hundreds of homes in Butte and Tehama counties. It has burned enough acres to become California’s fourth-largest wildfire in recorded history. The community is grappling with a huge sense of loss, as the fire burned the majority of the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve, and numerous multi-generational homes where residents have lived their entire lives. The NorCal Trauma Recovery Network® (TRN®) wasted no time in beginning community outreach and establishing local connections to notify affected communities of their services. The results of their efforts are nothing short of amazing.

Since August 2024, the NorCal TRN has been providing individual sessions (both in-person and telehealth options) for 23 survivors, including both adults and children. This service has amounted to over 100 hours of pro-bono time donated by our dedicated NorCal TRN volunteer EMDR therapy clinicians. In addition to the individual sessions, the TRN quickly adapted its approach to meet the community’s evolving needs by facilitating group treatments, including a two-hour children’s G-TEP group and an adult group, all while maintaining the integrity and fidelity of the therapeutic process.

Meeting Community Needs Amid Challenges

The NorCal TRN’s successful response to the Park Fire wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication and expertise of its team. Sherry Yam, LCSW, the NorCal TRN Coordinator, along with co-founder Merrill Powers, LCSW, and Coral Compagnoni, LMFT, worked tirelessly to ensure that survivors received the support they needed.

However, the team faced several challenges along the way. One of the primary concerns was finding space for sessions. While the community requested that group sessions be held at their community center, a familiar and comforting space, the facility had only one large room available to host both adult and children’s groups. This posed a logistical challenge, as there was concern that the two groups might distract one another. Additionally, there was the issue of group duration. Historically, G-TEP, or Group Traumatic Episode Protocol, is facilitated over 4 hours, but the community expressed a preference for a shorter session. Both adults and children were hesitant to engage in pro-bono groups lasting 4 hours or more.

In response, the TRN adapted the group structure to meet the community’s needs by shortening the session to just 2 hours.  They also held both groups in the same space and found that it was a positive experience, with many of the adults commenting that the joyful sounds of the children’s laughter and play became a positive part of their reprocessing and healing. Family survivors were also able to participate alongside their children, without the hassle of finding babysitters or arranging transportation. This modification allowed the team to maintain treatment fidelity while respecting the survivors preferences and constraints.

Further challenges arose in finding the right volunteers to facilitate group sessions and in spreading the word about TRN services. Many local agencies had never heard of Trauma Recovery/HAP or the NorCal TRN, which limited the reach of NorCal TRN services. Ultimately, most of the referrals for services came through flyers and word-of-mouth within the local community.

Recognizing the Strength of Survivors and Volunteers

As the NorCal TRN’s response to the Park Fire begins to wind down, the impact of the services provided remains fresh, for both the volunteer EMDR clinicians and the survivors. TRN volunteer clinician Tanya Kaplow, LMFT, shared, “It’s been such an honor to do this work. It’s been a highlight of my week,” reflecting the deep sense of fulfillment volunteers have found in supporting the community.

TRN Coordinator Sherry Yam shared the impactful moment a child becomes instrumental in his father’s healing, “The father hadn’t been engaging with bilateral stimulation (BLS) at the beginning of the group. His son came over and sat on his lap seeking comfort and asked his father if he had done the “butterfly hug” and showed his father how to do it. The father then started to use the butterfly hug and continued to use it even after his son went back to the children’s group. It’s inspirational and uplifting to see the survivors support each other.”

Survivors also expressed how meaningful the support has been, with one Park Fire survivor noting, “I feel even calmer than I had felt before the fires… life feels normal and safe again.”

A particularly memorable moment for TRN volunteers who provided the group sessions was seeing how quickly children in the G-TEP session experienced relief from their distress. The rapid transformation they witnessed in the children was a powerful reminder of the profound difference a handful of committed volunteers can make in a community.

Building Community Resilience: What We Learned

NorCal TRN members continue to learn and grow each time they serve their local communities post disaster. In this response, they learned how vital it is to offer both virtual services, given the rural areas of Northern California, and physical spaces where community members feel comfortable coming together as part of the healing process.

A major realization in trying to promote their services in the area was that the most effective outreach came from volunteers who were part of the local affected community and could speak directly to survivors. This personal connection helped bridge the gap between survivors and services. Moving forward, NorCal TRN members will continue to strengthen relationships with local agencies throughout the year and provide ongoing consultation and support to their volunteer EMDR therapy clinicians.

Trauma Recovery/HAP is committed to supporting our local Trauma Recovery Networks, before, during, and after local response efforts. Together, we are committed to building a network of healing that will continue to grow and evolve to meet the needs of the communities we serve.

A special thank you to the NorCal TRN volunteers:
Erin Alig-Dimalanta, Lisa Barry, Brenda Becker, Regina Faridnia, David Hammer, Leah Heyman, John Jakubowski, Tanya Kaplow, Alexandra Krass, Marina Lemaster, Robert Land, Denise Renye, Susana Russ, Keli Schoon, Diane Simon, Kelly Smith, Sonya Svoboda, Jesse Tichenor

A special thank you to the following TRN members for contributing to this article:

Sherry Yam, LCSW, HAP Facilitator, NorCal TRN Coordinator
Coral Compagnoni, LMFT, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, EMDR Institute Facilitator
Merrill Powers, LCSW, HAP Trainer, EMDR Institute & HAP Facilitator, NorCal TRN Consultant