[dropcap size=big]I[/dropcap]n fire-ravaged Northern California — where most people are living their day-to-day wearing masks to avoid smoke inhalation — a taquero originally from Guamuchil, Sinaloa is providing a much needed respite with tacos, burritos, tamales, and human kindness.
Jose Uriarte closes his popular brick and mortar taqueria Gordo Burrito up in Chico — 100 miles north of Sacramento – every Sunday to rest and as he puts it, “Be with God.” But this past Sunday, the Sinaloa expat put in work, driving his second location – a taco truck – through a thick fog of smoke to the parking lot of an old Elks Lodge where hundreds of displaced Californians have taken refuge from the deadly Camp Fire.
“It’s so … big,” Uriarte said in Spanish Wednesday, taking a long pause to explain the devastation. The smoke is so bad, it blocks the sun and makes it cold and surreal, Uriarte told L.A. Taco in a phone interview.
“It’s heartbreaking, but I just want to do what I can to help anyone that needs it, right now.” On Sunday, he donated 300 meals at the Chico Elks Lodge refuge. And everyday he is giving away food to others in the community who are helping in the state’s deadliest fire: firemen, EMTs, police, social workers, and displaced people in need of a warm meal.