Earthquake: The Long Road Back : Massive Relief Effort Puts Red Cross Teams to the Test : Aftermath: More than 200 volunteers spread out to set up shelters and provide supplies and counseling. The agency expects to spend up to $750,000.

Ventura County Red Cross volunteers are no rookies to disasters, but the relief efforts after Monday’s earthquake are putting them to the test.

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“Our projection right now is that this could be the largest disaster we’ve worked on,” said Brian Bolton, director of the Ventura County chapter of the American Red Cross. “But we’ve kind of lost track now that we’ve gone from floods to fires to earthquakes.”

In the last three days, 219 trained Red Cross volunteers have provided relief to victims of the Northridge earthquake by setting up shelters, delivering food and water, and counseling those who have lost their homes.

The agency has spent $40,000 so far and expects to spend up to $750,000, which would be more than has been spent on previous county disasters, Bolton said.

“We’ve got disaster action teams throughout the county. Most have a minimum 50 hours of training,” said Mike Goth, director of the disaster response effort here. “When we’ve had a catastrophic event, they start acting.”

When Goth arrived at the chapter’s Ventura office at 6 a.m. Monday, several trained volunteers were already there. Immediately, they started calling law enforcement agencies to determine the damage and dispatching personnel to affected areas.

“It was real obvious the most damaged areas were Simi and Fillmore. By early in the day we had requests from those cities for shelters,” Goth said. By midmorning, the shelters were up and volunteers were trying to get fresh water and food for the earthquake victims.

“Our focus has been delivering service, making sure people are being taken care of,” Bolton said. “It’s testing us; there’s no question about that.”

Now that victims’ immediate emergency needs have been met, he said, the Red Cross will move on to the next phase of its relief effort--helping people get their lives back on track.

On Wednesday, Red Cross teams surveyed damaged homes. By Friday, coordinators hope to have two service centers opened where case workers will meet with individuals and families and issue vouchers for food and clothing, which will be written to local stores of the recipients’ choice.

“The voucher allows them to get exactly what they need,” Bolton said. “It gives them a sense of control and empowerment.”

Voucher money comes entirely from donations to the American Red Cross, which is not a government-funded agency.

Melinda Fernandez, the chapter’s financial manager, said she anticipates a surge of donations over the next few days.

“This county always comes through,” she said.

The chapter is not actively seeking volunteers to aid in this relief effort, because it cannot have untrained people working at a disaster site, Bolton said. But it does need registered nurses, licensed vocational nurses and mental health professionals.

In addition, the chapter is encouraging people to sign up for future Red Cross training sessions. Since the earthquake, 75 people have signed up, Bolton said.

“Most people think a volunteer is someone who has lots of free time, (but) 90% of our volunteers work and do this in addition to their occupations,” Bolton said.

Oxnard residents Betty and Joe Jimenez have worked more disasters than they can remember. Both are members of the Red Cross National Disaster Team and have worked such disasters as the Loma Prieta earthquake and Hurricane Hugo.

“I go at least twice a year,” Betty Bolton said.

Why would someone give up his or her hard-earned vacation time to travel to a faraway disaster?

“It’s gratification, the feeling of helping somebody,” Joe Bolton said.