Local Red Cross Volunteer Assists With Fire Relief in Canada

A local American Red Cross volunteer is heading to Canada to help with disaster relief efforts there.

Mary Willis of Shreveport will leave early Saturday morning to fly to Ft. McMurray in Alberta, Canada, to assist with ongoing relief efforts from wildfires that began May 1. She'll be a casework supervisor and will be working one-on-one with affected individuals and families.

Most of those families are being provisionally cleared to return home beginning June 1. The Red Cross says at its height, the wildfire spanned more than 1.25-million acres, an area almost as large as Prince Edward Island. The fire ocntinues to burn and may take several more months to fully extinguish.

Willis has responded to more than a dozen disasters across the nation over the past few years, along with ones here at home, including the March floods and December tornadoes. She says she enjoys being able to help and comfort people in their time of greatest need.

If you'd like to join her in volunteering your time, call the Red Cross at 318-865-9545.