Wildfires can cause overwhelming stress: The red-orange hues beyond the plumes of smoke seemed so far away, but now threaten the only place some have ever called home. Communities of people told they're not in danger one moment are put on high alert the next. There's not always time to grab family photos, your grandmother's ring or your beloved pets. It only takes a few minutes for fires to grow at an incomprehensible velocity, forcing people out of their homes, says Scott Vest, spokesman for the Red Cross' Ogden, Utah, Northern Chapter. He was stationed in Middletown, California, which is about two hours north of San Francisco, for about two weeks – just days after emergency officials announced on Sept. 15 that 23,000 people had been displaced by wildfires in Northern California this year. More than 300,000 acres have burned in California so far in 2015, and the fires continue.