Clark Buck is used to volunteering with disaster relief efforts for forest fires and wildfires in Colorado, and most recently the ones in Douglas and Elbert counties. However, on Tuesday evening he touched down on Hawaii’s Big Island and immediately started working an overnight shift at a shelter.
The volunteer from Highlands Ranch is working as a shelter manager at the Pahoa Community Center, which gives people places to sleep and two meals every day.
According to Buck, people in the neighborhood have been displaced from their homes for a couple of weeks now as a result of the eruption of the Kilauea Volcano. They’ve been living in shelters, in their cars, and some have even set up tents on properties, he said.
“And of course the weather here is quite wet this time of year so you’ve got to deal with the rain and all the inconveniences that kind of living condition creates,” Buck said.
The shelter accommodates 40 cots and is currently at full capacity. It’s also very close quarters for everybody considering people try to bring as much of their belongings as possible," Buck said. “I would say from my observation, in the most case people are being very tolerant of the situation and very flexible with the inconveniences that they have to put up with.”
Buck estimates he’ll be on the Big Island for at least two weeks because that’s the typical length of volunteer assignments. However, he can’t predict how long Red Cross volunteers will be needed in general.
“My feeling is I’m going to be here as long as they need me to be here and do the things we need to do,” he said. “To help people, take care of them, and give them as much comfort and meet their needs as much as possible.”
