The Palisades Legion Post will open to FEMA and other disaster aid on Thursday.
Past Ronald Reagan American Legion Commander Jim Cragg announced that he had been selected to head a project to open a support center at the Post, at 15247 La Cruz Avenue, below CVS, next to the Post Office.
“Tomorrow, Tuesday February 11, will be a soft opening and Wednesday will be main opening. Thursday, February 13, FEMA will hold a press conference to announce its opening at the Post.
“I’m calling it Rally Around the Flag,” he said. “We are going to plant large flags at the ingress points into the town (Sunset and Chatauqua, Sunset and PCH, Sunset and Temescal and Sunset and PCH with signs directing people to look for the flags posted in the town to lead them to the Legion Post and find the Wildfire Community Support Center.”
“I hope it will also inspire people to plant flags at their homes and properties in the spirit of community resilience,” Cragg said.
The Legion building, the Post Office and an adjoining building with three store fronts were untouched by the Palisades Fire.
The Legion will be manned by veterans who want to help affected residents. There will be stations that offer free legal advice, insurance advice, FEMA, the Small Business Association and the Red Cross. Mental health professionals (L.A. County Department of Mental Health), trauma counselors and clergy will be in attendance.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) will be available along with food and water as well as shovels and sifters.
“Our intent is to offer our newly cleaned Legion Hall as a community support center for residents returning to view their properties,” Cragg said. “We have a stage area with video capabilities for elected officials to give briefings and spaces for media.
“Veterans have experience deploying into austere environments and thus the community is looking to us for leadership,” Cragg said. “Our team has been in the burn zone since Day 1.”
The Legion Building finished a five-day mitigation process on Saturday, which included environmental testing.
For agencies and groups interested in the space, Cragg said, he would be happy to give a tour. He is available for a call at (818) 434-3292 cell or email at jimcraggalpost283@gmail.com.
https://www.alpost283.com/fire
https://www.nbcnews.com/video/army-veteran-s-home-spared-by-the-palisades-fire-228963397539
https://www.voanews.com/a/local-veterans-are-determined-to-help-pacific palisadescommunity-to-overcome-disastrous-fires/7938667.html
Jim Cragg (second from right) will help lead veteran efforts to aid fire survivors.
Awesome, so proud of the Palisades
We are lucky and we will build back
God bless the Palisades and our country 🇺🇸