Royal High School opened its doors earlier this week to assist those affected by the devastating Moorpark fires.

According to Dan Houghton, principal of the high school, the school's multipurpose room was transformed into a Red Cross aid station.

On Sunday night, about 20 people visited the shelter to arrange for accommodations and find relief from the natural disaster. All were able to make plans to stay with friends or family who live away from the affected area.

"We are glad to help the Red Cross in any way that we can," Houghton said. "We're happy to give them a stress-free environment where they can stay and find out what happens as the fire progresses."

Even though the aid station had no residents on Monday, Houghton said the presence of disaster victims on campus wouldn't have affected the normal operations of the school.

"If people were here, the only difference would be that we would have served our students food outside of the multipurpose room rather than in it, as we normally do," Houghton said.

According to Debra Creadick, the director of development and communications for the Red Cross in Ventura County, shelters are established through cooperative agreements between community centers, such as churches and schools, and emergency responders.

"The decision to open certain shelters is made by the Office of Emergency Services for the county," Creadick said. "We all agree on potential locations, but they tell us which ones to open in the event of an emergency."

Aid stations provide disaster victims with food, water and medical care as well as family and mental health services, according to Creadick. "We give them a safe place to

sleep, but most importantly, we give them a shoulder to lean on and cry and a big hug if they need it," Creadick said.

Shelters are usually staffed by five or six people working eighthour shifts, according to officials. Even without any residents on Monday the shelter remained open, according to Red Cross policy.

She was also quick to point out that Houghton and others at Royal were extremely accommodating. The school's administrative team set up a generator for the aid workers when the school's power was knocked out, according to officials.