Wheeling Red Cross Worker Heads to Maui for Wildfire Relief
Derek Redd Trending
WHEELING -- Ra Lene Henthorn has been following the news of the Maui wildfire disaster from her American Red Cross office in Wheeling. Today, she heads to Hawaii to offer her assistance.
Henthorn, a disaster program specialist for the Ohio Valley River Chapter of the American Red Cross, flew out to Hawaii at 8:30 a.m. When she arrives, she will create documents that go out to the workforce, telling them what is happening in the area.
And when it is safe to enter the neighborhoods, Henthorn will help manage damage assessment. Volunteers will canvas the neighborhoods, marking down the damage that happens in order to provide financial and recovery assistance.
At least 99 people have been killed in the wildfires that destroyed nearly every building in the island's Lahaina area last week.
A risk company said the fires have caused $3.2 billion in insured property losses.
Henthorn said she received less than 24 hours notice that she was headed to Maui. She got the call around noon Tuesday and was on a flight this morning.
"Disaster can strike at any time," she said. "So you're ready at a moment's notice."
While there are some nerves that come with heading into the unknown, Henthorn said she's ready to help. She works with disasters every day, so she has developed the ability to roll with the punches and take situations as they come.
Plus, she said, helping others in their most vulnerable moments is what she joined the Red Cross to do.
"I've always had the desire to serve people who have suffered disaster," she said. "So having the opportunity to get to be able to go and serve those people, even if it's in the background, it's a blessing to me to be able to do that."
Henthorn will be in Maui for three weeks. Normal deployments are for two weeks, but she said the distance covered and size of the disaster necessitate a longer stay. While there, she estimates she'll be working 14-16 hours each day to help those displaced by the fires. She expects she'll stay at a staff shelter during her time there.
Prior to heading to Maui, she said she has tried to keep up with the fires and their aftermath as much as possible. Seeing that devastation has only reinforced her desire to help.
"It's devastating," she said. "It's a very sad situation. I'm eager to help as much as I possibly can."