SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Plenty of help is needed on Maui after wildfires left at least 53 people dead and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.
“Many just escaped with their lives and not much else,” said Sean Mahoney, the Regional CEO of the American Red Cross of Southern California.
Mahoney told ABC 10News he’s among the 20 Red Cross members from California going to assist those impacted by the fires and their Hawaiian counterpart’s response.
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“They might have a skill set. They might be a shelter manager, a feeding manager, or a government ops supervisor. And they’ll get a one-way ticket. They’ll bring a sleeping bag and some clothes, and they go,” Mahoney said.
Mahoney’s been deployed to different disasters during his career, including in American Samoa and the Paradise Fire in Northern California. He said going to these disasters is walking into a harsh situation.
“It can be a challenging environment. We just have what we brought with us. And we’ll be sleeping on cots, typically, or doubling up in hotel rooms. You just wake up in the morning and you do what needs to be done,” Mahoney said.
He said there are some logistical challenges providing relief response on an island.
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“It’s much more challenging than say Hurricane Ian in Florida, where we just sent semis and other emergency response vehicles from around the U.S. that could get there by road,” Mahoney said.
Despite any challenges that may come up, Mahoney is there to help, no questions asked.
“And it most probably was the worst day or one of the worst days of their life. So, when we’re there we want to meet people one-on-one, figure out what their needs are and make sure those needs are being addressed,” Mahoney said.
Mahoney said the response from the Red Cross has been large with several shelters set up in Maui with other shelters on the Big Island and an assistance center in Oahu.
