Teams from the American Red Cross, the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office, and other agencies provided shovels, rakes, respirator masks, water and other items to residents returning to the Hoback Ranches Phot by Alicia Whissel/American Red Cross
American Red Cross of Colorado & Wyoming, Thursday, October 18, 2018 – September was a busy month for the Red Cross nationally and locally. Hurricane Florence brought flooding and devastation to the Carolinas while wildfires raged in California and hurricanes threatened the central Pacific. The Colorado & Wyoming Region rallied to support those affected sending over 135 disaster responders into the disaster zones of South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.
We also sent disaster responders to California for wildfire response and to Guam and Hawaii as hurricanes threatened the Central Pacific.
Teams from the American Red Cross, the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office, and other agencies provided shovels, rakes, respirator masks, water and other items to residents returning to the Hoback Ranches Photo by Alicia Whissel/American Red Cross
Meanwhile, here at home, our volunteers rallied to support people affected by the Roosevelt and the Britania wildfires in Wyoming. They also rallied in support of National Preparedness Month with the Home Fire Campaign. Since the program began in 2014, we have installed over 12,500 free smoke alarms and made over 6,400 homes safer. Volunteers also participated in local safety and preparedness fairs across the two-state region.
Breakdown of the CO & WY 87 county service area:
Mile High Chapter (MHC): 37 individuals received aid; 14 were under 18 years of age and 2 are over the age of 65 were helped. The MHC response area includes 10 counties in the Denver Metro area.
Southeastern Colorado Chapter (SeCO): 15 individuals received aid; one person was 65 years of age and over while 3 people were under 18 years old. The SeCO response area includes 16 counties.
Northern Colorado Chapter (NoCO):11 individuals received aid with 5 that were 18 years of age and under and 1 person who was older than 65. The NoCO response area includes 11 counties.
Western Colorado Chapter (WeCO): 2 individuals received aid. The WeCo response area covers 27 counties, serving all western Colorado and the San Luis Valley.
Wyoming Chapter (WYO): 48 individuals received aid; 5 individuals were under age 18 and 9 were over the age of 65. The Wyoming Chapter response area covers all 23 counties that make up the state of Wyoming.
The families and individuals were provided a place to stay, money for clothes, food and medicine. Along with providing casework for the residents in a quick and efficient time frame, Red Cross volunteers will continue to provide support to these families going forward, by doing follow up work to ensure all needs are met and the individuals have a clear path to recovery from this personal disaster.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross