Feel-Good Friday: Woody Faircloth's EmergencyRV Gives Hope to Wildfire Victims

How very precious that a man and his young daughter have come up with a solution to bring temporary housing and hope to people who have lost everything in devastating fires.

Woody Faircloth and his daughter Luna started EmergencyRV in November 2018, in response to California’s Camp Fire, which killed 85 people, and decimated the entire town of Paradise, CA, displacing 70,000 people.

Faircloth watched the devastation unfold from his Denver, CO home and felt the need to do something.

From the Associated Press:

[Faircloth] turned to Luna and asked, “Why don’t we get an RV and drive it out there and give it to a family that lost their home? What do you think about that?”

Her reply: “Aw, Dad, God and Santa Claus are gonna be proud of us.”

“That kinda sealed the deal,” Faircloth said.

Faircloth found the first RV for $2,500 on Craigslist. He and Luna took three days to drive from Colorado, and celebrated Thanksgiving on the road. They delivered the RV to a Camp Fire victim the next day.

Word of their kind act spread quickly and within days, press requests, RV donations, offers of legal services, and funds poured in. Before the Faircloth’s knew it, they were delivering another RV and then another. Since then, EmergencyRV has helped hundreds of victims and expanded its mission to help many more victims of wildfire and other natural disasters.

Luna is now nine years old, and enjoys partnering with her father to deliver the RVs to fire victims. Faircloth actually works full time for Comcast, and tries to schedule these trips on weekends, but often dips into his vacation time in order to deliver the RVs.

Thanks to the Dixie Fire and hundreds of others raging across California and the Pacific Northwest, Faircloth has been particularly busy with EmergencyRV. Faircloth and Luna delivered their 95th RV, a 35-footer, to a volunteer firefighter from the town of Greenville, CA. This historic area, hearkening back to the gold rush era, was completely destroyed by the Dixie Fire.

In fact, firefighters, veterans, and first responders get priority consideration with the non-profit organization, and are moved to the top of the list, no matter when they apply for assistance.

Father and daughter deliver the 35-ft RV to its new owner — a volunteer firefighter who lost his home in the Dixie Fire, the 95th the Faircloths delivered to wildfire victims, volunteer efforts, donated RVs, https://t.co/gvKrnaXZd8 fills a gap. https://t.co/F3xJLyUK84

— Gypsy's Rainbow (@fair_josie) September 23, 2021

There are times when Faircloth needs the assistance of others to deliver the RVs, and he will reach out through social media. The entire non-profit corporation is volunteer run, and the RVs are mostly donated. Fire victims often have to wait for months for emergency housing, so the work Faircloth does fills a critical need. Sometimes the victims return the RVs back to the non-profit once they are settled, to pay it forward for another fire victim.

Looking for an Angel with a truck who would be willing to tow a 4500 lb. travel trailer this Sunday (9/19/21) from Medford, Oregon to Quincy, California. You will be delivering the trailer to a disabled Navy Veteran who retired to Greenville, CA after 22 years of service. pic.twitter.com/UcetdPgHht

— EmergencyRV (@EmergencyRv) September 17, 2021

Although Faircloth said it’s challenging to balance work, family and his nonprofit, he hopes to expand the volunteer effort. He envisions staging RVs in hurricane and fire zones in the future to respond even faster during disasters.

For now, there are more than 100 families on EmergencyRV.org’s waitlist. He plans to drive to California in the next two weeks to make his next delivery.

To learn more about EmergencyRV, donate an RV, donate money, or donate your time, visit Faircloth’s website.