An Oregon relief organization is seeking volunteers and support as it helps Kentucky tornado victims.
Last month’s tornado in Kentucky killed at least 77 people, and left over a hundred missing. Now Cascade Relief Team is helping survivors recover from the deadly disaster.
The group’s executive director, Marc Brooks, says he and some other members from Blue River visited several Kentucky communities in December, including Mayfield and Dawson Springs. He says they’re making a return trip later this week.
“So we're going to be working on some of the intake process, start getting some of the case management going out there, connecting people to things that they didn't know existed like disaster assistance food stamps and disaster relief unemployment.”
The stories and images from the aftermath are heartbreaking and troubling. Brooks recalled one woman’s story of devastation.
”She went outside, and her barns were gone. She at one point saw her neighbor’s horse flying through the air,” Brooks told KLCC. “And she said she was looking for her tractor, and this isn’t a ride-on mower tractor, this is a farm tractor about 3-4 times the size of my truck at the smallest. They found it a couple days later, eight miles away in a field.”
Among the team members who’ve already gone out to assess needs and put together relief plans are Melanie Stanley and Donald Dow, neighbors from Blue River that was largely devastated by the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire. The incident was part of Oregon’s worst wildfire season on record.
Cascade Relief Team formed after the 2020 Labor Day wildfires hit many parts of Oregon, including Blue River. It’s deploying its crew to Kentucky from January 5th through the 17th.
People wanting to help can visit their website at cascaderelief.org.
@2022, KLCC.
