As you start doing your Christmas shopping, Keri Roeder hopes you won’t forget to put 49 Fire victims on your list.

Roeder and a team of other business owners are asking the community to purchase gift certificates from local stores for people who lost their homes in the Aug. 30 fire.

The certificates can be dropped off at 12 locations anytime now through Nov. 25. Or you can stop by and drop them off during the Locksley Lane Block Gathering and Fundraiser, a special event to be held next weekend.

The block party will be a celebration of how “awesome” Auburn has been in the face of this tragedy, said Roeder, whose Yamasaki Nursery was threatened by the fire.

“Part of the function will be a thank-you to the community,” she said. “They really stepped up to the plate.”

The Nov. 14 celebration will include music, and hot dogs and hamburgers for purchase from the 49er Lions. The Placer County Sheriff’s Department will be taking kids for rides in their Humvee. Roeder said she’s still looking for someone with face-painting or balloon-making abilities to donate their services.

Keri and husband Brad Roeder first had the idea for a fundraiser the night of the fire, when they fought the blaze with hoses at the nursery.

“My husband and I fought the fire and that night we were thinking about the devastation when we got home and could see the reality of it (on TV),” Keri Roeder said.

But as other fundraisers came and went, the Roeders decided to focus in on the holidays.

“Instead of money, why not ask for gift certificates? And then they can do their own Christmas shopping,” she said. “And focusing on local businesses will also help our economy.”

Patti Muenter, owner of Auburn Car Tunes, one of the drop-off locations, said a lot of people are still looking for ways to help fire victims.

“We thought it’d be a good opportunity for people to give gift certificates to families who lost everything,” she said.

Although the fire came close to their building on Highway 49, Muenter said Auburn Car Tunes has been burned more by the downturn in the economy. Promoting local businesses was another part of this fundraiser that appealed to her.

“We’re very much in tune with the ‘shop local’ theme,” she said. “We try to stress that our prices are just as good, if not better, than the big box stores. You don’t have to drive down the hill.”

Fire survivors are being asked to register to receive donations by Nov. 25. A team of people will be looking at each family’s needs and dividing certificates evenly, Roeder said. Roeder is also tracking each certificate, so donors know exactly where their money went.

“Since September, the fundraisers have died down,” Roeder said. “We wanted to show we’re not forgetting the victims of the fire going into holiday season, we recognize there’s a lot of them still displaced and we’re still here to support them.”

Michelle Miller-Carl can be reached at michellem@goldcountrymedia.com.

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Where to drop off certificates:

Yamasaki Nursery

Dr. Greenlee Chiropractic

Auburn Car Tunes

Auburn Printers

Auburn Service Center

Autovantage Service Center

North Fork Vererinarian Clinic

Ginty Supply Company

TGH Aviation

Titan’s Dungeon

Wings Restaurant

The Ridge Golf Course

Certificates may also be dropped off during the Locksley Lane Block Gathering, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at Yamasaki Nursery, 3700 Grass Valley Highway. Parking available at Schultz Tire and North Fork Veterinarian Clinic.

How to register to receive help

Fire victims are invited to register to receive donations (with proof of residency) during the event Nov. 14. Victims can also register at Yamasaki Nursery from Nov. 14-Nov. 25. Donations will be available for registered participants on Nov. 30.

For more information, contact Keri Roeder at (530) 885-3433.