ExtraFood is working with Canal Alliance to provide fresh food to those affected by the recent Canal fire and is included in an article in the Marin IJ on the overall response.
In the immediate aftermath, we shared food provided by Kaiser Health and MarinHealth Medical Center. Since then, we’ve shifted into daily support, delivering both fresh groceries and hot meals. We’re working closely with Canal Alliance and San Rafael City Schools to coordinate and facilitate meal distribution. Some of the food comes from our generous grocery partners like Nugget, Whole Foods, Safeway, and United Markets. Our Community Meals partners, like Insalata’s, Mulberry Street Pizzeria, and Café Lotus, (to name a few), are stepping up to provide hot, ready-to-eat lunches and dinners. Additionally, we are creating meals in our SOUPer Food Kitchen.
Second San Rafael apartment fire victim identified
By CAMERON MACDONALD | cmacdonald@marinij.comUPDATED: August 29, 2025 at 9:46 AM PDT
The Marin County coroner’s office has confirmed the identify of the second victim found inside a San Rafael apartment complex that erupted in flames last week.
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Pamela Lynn Scoggins, 68, was a resident of the complex at 516 Canal St., Chief Deputy Coroner Roger Fielding said Thursday.
The other victim who died was identified previously. She was identified as Tracey Lee Lowmiller, 62, who also was a resident at the complex.
Both victims were reported missing after the fire broke out around 5:30 a.m. Thursday. The flames severely burned the three-story, 19-apartment complex. Several occupants escaped the fire by jumping from windows and balconies, according to San Rafael Fire Department.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and the San Rafael Police Department has called it “suspicious.”
The fire displaced more than 50 residents who are in temporary housing. They include families, seniors and people with disabilities, said Omar Carrera, chief executive office of San Rafael nonprofit Canal Alliance.
Canal Alliance held an online fundraiser for a disaster relief fund. By Wednesday, the nonprofit had raised more than $140,000.
In addition, the Marin Community Foundation collected more than $170,000 from the public and regular foundation contributors. The foundation will donate the funds to Canal Alliance and Kentfield nonprofit ExtraFood to support the fire relief effort, said Vikki Garrod, Marin Community Foundation chief of staff.
Funding will support Canal Alliance’s case management, cash assistance, temporary housing costs, funeral expenses and other needs.
“We are going to continue the effort because this is going to be a long road to recovery for these folks,” Garrod said.
The city and the county are each committing $25,000 to the relief effort, Carrera said.
During the chaotic hours that followed the fire, Carrera stood in a large crowd that gathered a block away from the burning structure. Onlookers watched firefighters from agencies across the county treat victims at a triage site.
Case managers from Canal Alliance and San Rafael City Schools soon started the process of finding temporary housing for the displaced. Managers sought local hotels.
“To move 59 people to hotels, as you can imagine, is very complicated,” Carrera said.
City staff invited the victims to stay overnight at a shelter set up in the Albert J. Boro Community Center.
The San Rafael Chamber of Commerce soon contacted member hotels to see if they had rooms for the displaced.
“Our immediate priority at the chamber was to help ensure families had a safe place to stay while they process such a traumatic loss,” said Karen Strolia, the organization’s president and chief executive officer.
Carrera said residents were able to move from the shelter to a hotel on Friday.
“I was checking the last person by 11:30 p.m.,” he said.
The next task was to coordinate the distribution of meals to the displaced at the hotel.
ExtraFood first delivered meals donated by Kaiser Permanente and MarinHealth Medical Center, said Mandy Willian, ExtraFood’s marketing director. They later provided meals donated by several supermarkets and restaurants.
“Right now, we’re making daily deliveries of healthy meals and fresh groceries to people displaced by the Canal fire, for as long as our help is needed,” said Will Dittmar, ExtraFood’s executive director. “In the face of such a devastating event, we’ve witnessed extraordinary resilience from the community, and offering stability and meeting basic needs in moments like this is at the heart of our mission.”
Challenges for the victims include finding transportation, recovering immigration documents and identifying long-term housing, Garrod said.
“That’s going to be a tough one,” Garrod said. “Housing is stretched enough as it is in Marin County.”
Carrera said his staff at Canal Alliance is working to understand the victims’ housing needs. He said families will prioritize housing that keeps their children in their schools.
“It has to be case by case,” Carrera said.
Marin County staff also assisted with helping the fire victims. Marin County Supervisor Mary Sackett said staffers replaced lost Medi-Cal cards, provided mental health support and connected victims with the CalFresh restaurant meal program.
“We know that healing and rebuilding will take time, and the need for care and compassion will continue in the days ahead,” Sackett said.
