By Thom Smith

Last week, Andy Preston, afternoon drive jock at The Gater-FM 98.7, read about the fires in Central and North Florida. He called his boss, operations manager Dave Denver, and suggested a collection drive at Stevie Nicks' Coral Sky Amphitheatre show Saturday.

The amphitheater was all for it. Because the fires were still burning, however, the Red Cross didn't know what clothing and food were needed. We need money, they said. Nicks gave the drive a huge boost when she called Preston's show on Thursday. "She'd been here three days and the smoke became an emotional issue for her," Denver said. "She once had a garage fire and it really freaked her out."

Several times from the stage, Nicks mentioned the collection and people responded with $2,010. "A lot brought checks they had made out in advance," said Coral Sky marketing boss and volunteer collector Tom Neiger. "It really came together."