Local efforts to support victims of Maui fires
Local efforts to support victims of Maui fires
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 local Red Cross volunteers taking off
00:02 from Bakersfield today to go assist
00:03 with the wildfires burning in Maui.
00:05 Now these are just one of the many
00:08 local connections that are small town
00:09 has with the island across the ocean.
00:12 He's been terrified.
00:12 I mean, he sent me a text at one point
00:15 and just was like, you know, I gotta be
00:18 honest, I'm trying to keep it together,
00:20 but I'm scared. It's a devastating
00:22 scene in Hawaii, one that Californians
00:24 know too well. It's just the whole
00:26 town was devastated. The wildfires
00:27 in Maui incinerating the historic
00:29 town of Lahaina and killing at least
00:31 67 people. Bakersfield resident
00:32 math Kirkeby said his brother lost
00:34 practically everything due to the flames.
00:36 Fortunately, the main house where
00:37 he and his girlfriend and son live,
00:39 they had evacuated it so everybody was safe,
00:42 but the whole house burned to the ground.
00:44 Kind of just contract work and he had
00:47 an excavator that he had saved up for.
00:49 It was like $30,000 or something
00:51 like that and it burned down as
00:53 well as his truck burned down.
00:55 Efforts to support the victims
00:57 of the wildfires are underway.
00:58 Including here in Bakersfield.
01:00 We do know that it's been reported
01:02 that there have been some deaths,
01:04 so the Red Cross will have a special
01:06 team to meet with those families to
01:08 help them navigate through this really,
01:10 really hard time.
01:11 They have what they need for now.
01:13 It's obviously a developing situation,
01:15 so we're on standby if they do need
01:17 anything. We have the product here.
01:19 The wildfires quickly moving through
01:21 Lahaina initially fueled by violent
01:22 winds caused by Hurricane Dora.
01:24 This may be a long effort.
01:26 We don't know that yet,
01:27 but we know that there's been homes.
01:29 Businesses lost lives lost.
01:31 Will need volunteers to replenish
01:32 the volunteers that are there.
01:34 Most of our volunteers are
01:35 going for three weeks.
01:37 Kirby said his brother was separated
01:39 from his girlfriend and their two
01:41 year old son for two dates due to
01:43 roadblocks and after losing their home,
01:45 they're now living out of a one bedroom shack,
01:48 so he had kind of caught wind of
01:51 supply issues and food shortages,
01:52 so he asked her to go purchase some stuff.
01:55 And she left and when she tried to come back,
01:59 they had everything roadblocked
02:00 and they wouldn't let her through.
02:02 I mean, just when everything's going
02:03 haywire and your life's kind of
02:05 crumbling around you and not to be
02:07 around your family is going to be
02:09 really tough. Kirby asking for
02:11 donations to send his brother and
02:13 around town local businesses like
02:14 Tikiko and Ono Hawaiian Barbecue,
02:16 as well as residents are fundraising to
02:18 help the victims of the Maui fires.
02:20 And we have links and other ways that
02:22 you can help assist the victims of the
02:25 Maui wildfires on our website.
02:27 Tundra 23.com for 23 ABC News.
02:29 I'm Veronica Morley connecting you.