Vally Fire Hero is one of many: Inside Story

A Tribute to a True Hero...
The last thing Sequoia Senior Solutions’ CEO Gabriella Ambrosi expected on an otherwise quiet weekend was to be a player in September’s raging Valley Fire. However, with in-home senior care clients throughout the North Bay, it quickly became apparent that she, and her company, would be called upon to drop everything and step up like so many others through this terrible tragedy.

It was already very emotional to read about the lady who lost her life in the raging Valley Fire, particularly because two of Gabriella’s elderly clients came very close to that, were it not for the heroic action of one of her employees.

“On Saturday evening, caregivers were contacting us alarmed, as they could not reach clients due to road blockages.” Gabriella noted. “One elderly client was in Hidden Valley Lake and is limited in her mobility. We were in phone contact with her while she was watching the flames from her porch getting closer to her home. We contacted our Lake County Area Manager who supervises our client’s care. Her name is Lisa Lunsford and, as you will see, she is a true hero.”

Lisa contacted the Hidden Valley Homeowners Association who reassured her that, in case of mandatory evacuation, they would have gone door to door and make sure everyone was safe. Lisa then realized that another elderly client, this one with Alzheimer’s disease, was alone near the affected area. Again, she was reassured by the authorities that someone would go to this lady’s house in case of evacuation.
Things were progressing very rapidly and, when Lisa learned about the mandatory evacuation, she began looking for the two ladies in all evacuation centers and local Skilled Nursing Facilities, to no avail. Lisa then decided to call each of the ladies on their cell phones (the land lines were down) and discovered they both had been left behind by the evacuating personnel.
At this point, Lisa called 911 and had to convince the dispatcher that there were people left behind. She was told that no-one was allowed to go in that area. Lisa insisted on being escorted and managed to rescue both ladies and took them to safety to the Sequoia Senior Solutions office in Lakeport were they spent the night in the company and supervision of Lisa Lunsford and her husband Troy.

“We are sure that many other lives were saved in similar ways and that there are many other heroes out there.” Gabriella said. “This is our tribute to a dedicated and selfless professional on our team and we hope this will bring great joy to the rescued ladies and their families.”