Florida Volunteers Fly 3,000 Miles to Help Wildfire Victims

When wildfires forced 67,000 people to flee their Spokane homes with just an hour's notice, help came from an unexpected place: sunny Florida.

Nancy Dile from Tampa and Dr. Sonia Bhatia from Orlando answered the call, boarding planes within 24 hours to join over 200 Red Cross volunteers now working in emergency shelters across Washington state. A third volunteer from the Tampa area also deployed to help people who lost everything to the flames.

The disaster is massive. More than 700 buildings have been destroyed, leaving thousands of families displaced and traumatized. Many evacuees grabbed whatever they could carry and ran, leaving behind homes, medications, photos, and pets.

The Florida volunteers are doing more than handing out blankets. They're making sure people have hot meals, safe places to sleep, and clean water. They're helping families replace critical medications and eyeglasses. And they're offering something just as vital: emotional support for people processing unimaginable loss.

"They want to make sure that people, their neighbors, are being helped as much as possible because they know how much trauma they have gone through," said Duhane Lindo, a Red Cross communications manager in Florida. The volunteers will stay for two weeks, working long days to serve their fellow Americans 3,000 miles from home.

The Ripple Effect

This response shows the true reach of American compassion. More than a dozen volunteers from North and Central Florida are currently deployed to emergencies in Guam, Texas, and Wisconsin too. The Red Cross stands ready to send even more volunteers to Spokane if needed.

These aren't professional disaster responders. They're everyday people who spent weeks or months training for moments like this. They left their own families on a moment's notice to help strangers rebuild their lives.

Once it's safe, the volunteers will shift to damage assessment and recovery planning, helping families navigate the long road back to normalcy. For now, they're providing the comfort and care that transforms a shelter into a place of hope.

The Red Cross says the need for trained volunteers never stops, and anyone interested can join this network of neighbors helping neighbors across America.