WI Red Cross volunteers head to Oregon to help with wildfire relief

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Two Wisconsin Red Cross volunteers from the Madison area are on their way to Oregon to help victims of wildfires in that area.

Volunteers left for Salem on Sunday morning, bringing loads of food and water. Organizers say they will help feed people rebuilding their homes and supervise shelters for those who had to leave.

Providing aid can be challenging during COVID-19, but volunteers, like Barbara Gugel, say it is rewarding.

“The look on a child’s face when they come up to the donation table and say ‘you got any extra socks?’ And you give them two or three pairs of clean socks, and they’re just so grateful. You know, to think that something that small could bring such happiness," she said.

Volunteers said they plan to arrive in Oregon in the coming days.

According to the organizations Facebook page, approximately eight Wisconsin disaster team members are deployed to California and Oregon to help, joining hundreds of others on the ground helping in the humanitarian response.