VIDEO: Every year, the Red Cross of Northern California awards a Humanitarian of the Year. This year, it went to Betsy Witthohn, who started volunteering with the Red Cross in 2017. KRON 4’s Rob Nesbitt visited Witthohn at her home in Santa Rosa to see what inspired her to give back. When you talk with a Santa Rosa resident who was living in the city in 2017, they’ll tell you about their memories of the Tubbs Fire. At the time, it was the most destructive wildfire in California history and came within feet of Witthohn’s front door.
“Our street was full of people evacuating with their trailers, and it was like, oh my god, is it going to come here,” Witthohn said. The flames spared her property, but that wasn’t the case for everyone. The Tubbs Fire destroyed more than 5,000 homes and killed 22 people. In the wake of destruction, Witthohn took notice of the volunteers who had stepped in to help her community, specifically the American Red Cross. When she saw an ad that the organization was seeking more volunteers, she decided to step up.
