BODFISH, Calif. (KERO) — Team Rubicon and local partners unite to clear trees and debris near homes in Bodfish as part of a Borel Fire cleanup.
- For more information about Team Rubicon visit their website.
- Team Rubicon is here for the week as volunteers to help clean up the Kern River Valley.
- The Borel Fire was the largest wildfire in Kern County history.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Volunteering. Helping. Unity. That’s what Team Rubicon is all about. I’m Steve Virgen, your neighborhood reporter. The team of volunteers along with local partners is cleaning up from the Borel Fire in the Kern River Valley.
The charred landscape from last year’s Borel Fire tells a story of destruction, but this week, it’s also telling a story of renewal. Team Rubicon volunteers are swarming across the Kern River Valley, chainsaws buzzing and muscles straining as they clear debris that homeowners simply couldn't manage alone.
“For me, it feeds my soul. It really, really does. It does something deep down inside that I can’t fill that hole anyway else. It really touches my soul. I enjoy helping people and I’ve had life altering experiences in Team Rubicon,” says Arlee Altamirano.
When disaster strikes, heroes emerge wearing not capes, but gray T-shirts. These volunteers – many of them military veterans – have traded one mission for another: bringing communities back from disaster, the largest fire in Kern County history.
From sunrise until their bodies give out, they're removing hazardous trees, clearing burned debris, and restoring hope to residents who've been living with constant reminders of what they lost.
“But it’s awesome that people come together after a tragedy. So there’s joy always. There’s beauty from ashes.”
Bobbie Alvarez, a Havilah resident, volunteers with the Kern River Conservancy. She tells me she is enjoying the week.
“I love it. I’m totally stoked to meet new people and see their passion for going to places that aren’t even important to them. They didn’t grow up here. They just come here to help people that need it. People helping people. It’s powerful stuff,” Alvarez said.
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