The American Red Cross is in need of volunteers and will be offering trainings this weekend as they prepare to move into the recovery stage of the floods.

“From our perspective, we’re moving into recovery mode and trying to help people make their homes livable again,” said Nadine McCrindle, the executive director of the Eastern and Central Oregon chapter of the American Red Cross.

McCrindle said Saturday the organization is in need of volunteers to join in the recovery efforts. Those wishing to volunteer can go to a shelter to begin the process or can go to www.redcross.org. Volunteers will need to pass a background check and submit a photo of their drivers license.

According to a social media post from the city of Pendleton, the city and the American Red Cross are asking people to avoid the Riverside neighborhood. Though waters have receded, the area is “heavily saturated” and cannot handle vehicles and volunteers coming into the area.

“We are not overlooking the need in this area,” the post states. “There is a difference in circumstances and geography, the ground is much too saturated to allow volunteers into the area.”

Roads that were previously impassable are now allowing people to return to their homes and assess the damage brought by this week’s floods, and the American Red Cross will be helping in those assessments.

McCrindle said volunteers specializing in disaster assessments will be driving around impacted areas Saturday afternoon to get a first look at the damage. A schedule for additional assessments and relief efforts will then be developed and additional trainings will be held for new volunteers on Sunday.

Once roads open people tend to return to their homes, McCrindle said, and she said the American Red Cross will be there to help people restore them to livable conditions or connect them with other temporary housing or shelter. 

The American Red Cross will be coordinating their efforts with the county, municipalities and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. According to McCrindle, she met this morning with Pendleton Mayor John Turner and the Community Action Program of East Central Oregon.

While the organization is looking ahead to recovery, American Red Cross shelters remain open at the Pendleton Convention Center and the Walla Walla County Fairgrounds. McCrindle said 13 people stayed at the Pendleton shelter and eight stayed at the Walla Walla shelter overnight Friday.

The organization has received helpful donations of clothes and blankets at each shelter but McCrindle said other than time the best thing to donate right now is money.

“Donating money allows us to purchase the specific items those effected need the most,” she said. “If we have a warehouse full of towels but everybody needs blankets, we’d rather have the money to go out and buy them blankets.”