McDonald’s rumor not true

Whipping around cyberspace this week was a righteously indignant e-mail alleging that the owner of the Paradise McDonald’s—who owns Golden Arches in Chico and Gridley, too—wouldn’t give food to firefighters, “denied the Red Cross any donations as well” and told employees, even those needing to evacuate, “that if the power is on then they better be at work.”

Truth or myth? Mark Burington says it’s a myth, and a hurtful one, started by the adult daughter of an employee who (ironically) was busy evacuating her home.

The man who asked for food wasn’t in uniform, and firefighters get vouchers or charge cards through CalFire. Burington has donated 1,500 bottles of water to the relief effort, and his Paradise store let so many workers go that it operated with crews of two or three at the height of the fire.