News

Sierra Nevada sets up fund for Camp Fire, which threatens its headquarters

By Bill Moss, Published: November 13, 2018

Potentially threatened by the devastating Camp Fire in northern California, Chico-based Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. has set up a fund to help with recovery and rebuilding in the aftermath of the fire.

CNN reported that more than 52,000 people have been evacuated and 1,385 are in shelters due to the Camp Fire, which has burned  more than 117,000 acres in and around Paradise, Calif., and destroyed more than 7,000 structures, including 6,453 single-family residences. As of Monday night, it was about 30 percent contained, CNN reported. The death toll had risen to 42 on Monday, with dozens more reported missing.

On Monday the Camp Fire was approaching the eastern edge of Chico, home of Sierra Nevada's original brewery and headquarters. The nation's second largest craft beer maker, Sierra Nevada chose Mills River as the location for its only East Coast brewery in 2012 and has been operating here since 2014.

Here's the letter the company put out on Monday night:

As many of you are aware, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and our surrounding communities are in the midst of dealing with the still-active Camp Fire. Even though we are all living moment to moment trying to figure out who is safe and if our homes have been spared, the beauty of the human spirit still shines through.

We have been flooded by offers of support, from a simple "I am here" to generous offerings of financial and physical support. There are many opportunities—both immediate and long-term—to help those affected.

For immediate support, there are many nonprofit and government agencies whose sole purpose is to help those experiencing disaster. Rather than duplicate those efforts, we will instead focus on connecting those groups with people who need help.

For long-term support, we have set up a Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund, supported through the Golden Valley Bank Community Foundation. The brewery is seeding this fund with an initial $100,000 to get started. Once the fire is out, we will distribute all donated money to partner organizations that are dedicated to rebuilding and supporting the communities that have been affected.

If you would like to support this long-term effort, click here and select "Sierra Nevada Brewery," and follow the instructions thereafter. Checks can be made payable to "GVBCF - Sierra Nevada" and either dropped off at Golden Valley Bank or mailed to 190 Cohasset Road, Chico, CA 95926.

We appreciate the tremendous amount of support and compassion shown from folks around the world. With the brave men and women risking their lives fighting this fire and the outpouring of support from communities near and far, we know we are on a path to healing and rebuilding.

Thank you,
The Grossman Family
Ken, Sierra and Brian