DENVER — An American Red Cross volunteer from Colorado traveled to Maui Friday to help those impacted by the destructive and deadly wildfires.
Julia Muirhead will arrive in Honlulu first, and then anticipates she'll be sent to Maui.
As of Friday, the Red Cross said there are five volunteers from Colorado en route to Hawaii. They will join more than 200 other volunteers offering aid to the island.
Hundreds of homes and businesses are destroyed, thousands have no power, and all internet, phone and cell services are down, the Red Cross reported Friday.
"Expect a lot of casualties, misplaced people... you have no electricity, the water might be dirty, there might not be any place to sleep, but a cot with the people in the shelter," that's Muirhead said she was told to prepare for upon her arrival, and at least three-week stay on the island.
In partnership with county government, the Red Cross opened shelters on Maui and Oahu for displaced Maui residents and thousands of tourists evacuated from Maui.
"Our teams are providing evacuees with a safe place to stay, food to eat and emotional support during this challenging time... When it is safe to do so, Red Cross teams will help with damage assessment and begin distributing relief supplies," Josh Egbert, a communications manager with the Red Cross, told Denver7.
It's a group effort to get all of the survivors everything they need. Muirhead said the National Guard hands out generators; water filters are distributed; the Red Cross gives out cell phone charges and finds an internet connection for people who need it so they can connect with loved ones and let them know they're okay.
In addition to people like Muirhead flying in from across the country to help, the Red Cross said as many as 1,300 Hawai'i residents have begun their Red Cross volunteer training to be able to assist with the recovery.
If you are interested in becoming a Red Cross volunteer, you can find more info here.
In addition to boots-on-the-ground help, people are coming together to help get the necessary supplies to Maui and fundraising for the victims of this tragedy.
On Friday afternoon, a United Airlines flight carrying supplies from the Red Cross is scheduled to leave San Francisco for Maui, Russell Carlton, a United Airlines communications manager at Denver International Airport, told Denver7. This shipment will bring clean-up kits including work gloves, trash bags and cleaning materials to volunteers on the island. It will also transport supplies for shelters such as: soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, facial tissues and blankets.
"That flight, like others over the past few days, will return with a full load of hundreds of passengers," Carlton said.
If you want to make a monetary donation to help the Red Cross mission in Maui, you can visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS (800-733-2767), or text the word HAWAII to 90999 to make a $10 donation. The Red Cross said your contribution enables volunteers prepare for, respond to and help people recover from this disaster.
Muirhead reiterated how those donations make a difference. They go to "water, food costs mental health, nurses and medications, things like that. We have to buy all of that... we make sure that [victims] get help," she said.
While there's a long ways to go, Muirhead explained to Denver7 she's hopeful the community can come together in ways she's witnessed while volunteering with the Red Cross during past tragedies.
The devastation & loss of life caused by the #MauiWildfires is heartwrenching. 💔 As more information becomes clear on the scope of the damage, here's what you need to know about our response & available forms of support:
— American Red Cross (@RedCross) August 10, 2023
➡️ Red Cross disaster teams are on the ground & working… pic.twitter.com/Ydib99imkU
