PENNSYLVANIA, USA — In response to Hawaii’s wildfires, there’s a flood of assistance pouring into the state, including from Pennsylvania.
"We’re first responders, and we respond first I guess," Ken Pagurek with Pennsylvania Task Force 1 said.
The group, which has responded to events such as the R.M. Palmer Chocolate Factory explosion this spring and the surfside condo collapse in 2021, sent two members from Dauphin County to assist with search and rescue efforts.
“Martin Nevil from Harrisburg Area Community College, he is deployed as a deputy ISD leader," Pagurek said. "The other individual is Alexis Pissarro, who's from the Dauphin County Emergency Management Agency. She's the voice she's deployed as a planning section chief."
He says the group is well equipped to handle natural disasters like this one.
"When we go, we hope to be able to bring the unique set of skills that we have to the table," Pagurek said. "Lexie and Marty are both extremely accomplished in emergency management."
Task Force 1 is far from the only group answering the call. The Red Cross of Greater Pennsylvania currently has four volunteers assisting in the Pacific.
In south central Pennsylvania, Mennonite Disaster Service executive director Kevin King is thinking of long-term support for the Island.
"I think there is a great need and people wanting to reach out to help," King said.
The organization is standing by, hoping to help people rebuild in the coming months, if not years. However, that process will be ongoing, long after the fires are put out.
“There is property management, there's land title, clearance, insurance, many, many complicated things," King said. "And it’s a sense of do we want to rebuild back and where and how.”
King also says donations to organizations is the best way to help the current situation.
"Already people are sending stuff, and they do not need stuff," King said. "The best thing is to give cash and/or make a donation to a reputable organization that is responding to the needs there. "
Though Lahaina is thousands of miles away, the needs of others are front and center for many Pennsylvanians.
“When people are in need, they're in need, and, you know, if we can go there and assist them, we can shoulder some of that burden for them," Pagurek said. "We're happy to do it.”
Pennsylvania Task Force 1 will be deployed in Maui for at least two weeks.