ROANOKE, Va. – As thousands of people rush out of Maui and away from the wildfires, one local woman is headed towards the destruction, ready to help.
“I had 24 hours’ notice before I had to put my life on hold for three weeks and pack up everything that I needed,” Red Cross Regional Disaster Preparedness Manager Danielle Englund said.
Englund has dedicated most of her career to heading toward disaster.
“Going into it knowing I’m going to not only have a fantastic experience that is very meaningful to my life, but also some things that may be tough for me to experience. And when you choose to become a disaster responder that’s kind of one of the things that you choose to accept for yourself,” Englund said.
Englund received a call Thursday asking her to drop everything and head to Hawaii.
She says, first thing’s first, is getting people to shelter.
Englund’s job? To lead a team of volunteers to support the workforce coming in.
“Whether it be a shelter that’s in a large location like a school gym or even a coliseum of some kind, or whether it’s in hotels that are willing to put up their rooms for folks,” she said.
With fires still raging, safety is a concern for volunteers like Englund.
“I was told there were several ‘hardship codes’, and for us what that means is there are lots of issues at this location, and are you okay with this,” she said.
Englund says she hopes to empower the people of Maui, so they can help each other long after the Red Cross leaves.
“The most important thing is to help that community to be resilient and by including the folks who live in that community, and encouraging them to support their own community, then they, in turn, are also prepared to continue to support when the rest of us leave,” she said.
To donate, or learn how you can volunteer, visit the Red Cross’ Hawaii wildfire webpage.