SPOKANE, Wash. —
The Red Cross says they'll need local volunteers more than ever this year, as COVID-19 shrunk their volunteer pool by hundreds of thousands.
Around 300,000 volunteers across the nation won't be able to travel to the Inland Northwest, just when experts are forecasting that this year's fire season will be worse than usual.
“The coronavirus pandemic will make it challenging to deploy trained disaster volunteers from other parts of the country, should an emergency occur. In light of this, the Red Cross is asking you to be ready to help your community,” said Alex Dieffenbach, Northwest Region CEO.
The Red Cross is asking locals to be ready to step up in case they need to set up shelters to help those displaced by wildfires.
“We have to make sure all of our volunteers come from within that local community. If you know that your city, county, or greater region tends to be one of these areas where wildfires happen, just know that local resources will need to be tapped into, like volunteers,” said Betsy Robertson, Communications Program Manager.
The Red Cross needs volunteers to help staff with shelter reception, registration, food, information collection and other vital tasks.
The Red Cross is also asking for help from registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, licensed vocational nurses, nurse practitioners and emergency medical technicians with active licenses.
Volunteers are needed in shelters to help assess people’s health, as well as observing and screening shelter residents for the coronavirus.
There is a special need for volunteers to support sheltering efforts. Because of COVID-19, the Red Cross is placing those needing a safe place to stay in emergency hotel lodging when possible.
If hotel stays aren’t possible, then the Red Cross will open traditional shelters. To help keep people safe, The Red Cross put in place additional precautions and developed special training for their workforce.
Those interested in volunteering can visit the Red Cross' website, or contact local Red Cross offices at 509-590-7691, or email ryan.rodin@redcross.org.