LAGUNA BEACH : Baskets Carry Love, Household Goodies

The Laguna Fire Relief Coalition began the pleasant task Monday of distributing Valentine’s Day baskets, stuffed with items as unexpected as a tiny television and as practical as a fly swatter, to victims of the October fire.

“Is it Christmas?” asked one man, shaking his head as he bent to examine first one cellophane-wrapped package and then another.

Even coalition workers seemed stunned by the weekend delivery of more than 100 baskets, tubs, planters and other containers bulging with goodies, from spices and cookbooks to gift wrapping and radios. The packages were prepared by the Junior League of Orange County.

“When we first heard they were going to put together treat baskets, we were thinking candy hearts,” director Anita Mangels said. “This stuff is amazing.”

For some fire survivors, the toughest job Monday appeared to be deciding which package to choose.

Reah Travis, who lost her Canyon Acres home in the firestorm, settled on a basket laden with household supplies, including dish towels and toothbrushes, and topped with a pink bow.

“I can’t even believe it . . . what people do for other people,” she said.

Shannon Zech, president-elect of the Junior League of Orange County, which has helped fire victims since shortly after the firestorm, said the group’s new members took on this latest project.

“We were looking for other ways we could help,” she said. The new members “really took it and ran with it and put it all together.”

The Laguna Fire Relief Coalition provides a variety of assistance for fire survivors from its headquarters in the Boat Canyon shopping center, including crisis counseling, food, clothing and referrals to other support agencies.

The baskets will be distributed throughout the week, until they are gone.

“They’re going to go pretty darn fast and today will be the big kickoff day,” Mangels said Monday. “Our survivors are just going to be crazy about this stuff.”

Outside the coalition office, former Canyon Acres resident Betty Watkins wrestled a bulky basket filled with crayons, greeting cards and noodles into her Toyota.

“I chose this one because it had a cordless screwdriver in it and I’ve been missing it,” she said.