SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- Local Group Heads to Colorado for Fire Relief Work. A group of local Red Cross volunteers rushed to the highlands of Colorado to offer aid. We got in touch with the volunteers from Santa Cruz and have their story.
Firefighters in Colorado are still fighting a fire that just won't stop fighting back. Just last night the burned acreage reached over 69,000 acres and fire containment dropped from 60% to 45%. This fire has destroyed more than 500 homes.
Now some local volunteers are making their way from Santa Cruz to help out with disaster relief efforts for a fire that's only getting worse. The three volunteers, Francis Rinaldo, Lynn Dunton and Janet Packer from Santa Cruz County arrived in Colorado on Friday. They are staying in Loveland just below where the fire is burning.
The fire was getting worse in Colorado and that's when they decided to step up and make the trip to help.
"We've had several dozens of people staying with in the shelters but during the day we've had several thousand people coming to our centers. The numbers have increased significantly within the last few days," said Dunton.
Right now there's less than a hundred red cross staff taking care of thousands of people who need their help. As the fire keeps burning the stress of the situation gets worse. Just last night another 7,000 acres burned. "There have been multiple times where people have been evacuated, allowed back into their homes and then forced to evacuate again," said Dunton.
Coming all the way to Colorado is not easy for these three and gets costly between the plane tickets, places to stay and food, but they say its worth it.
"I love that I'm able to help people when these kind of emergencies happen. So when the opportunity arose I checked with my schedule, checked with my husband and here I am," said Packer.
