Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) For almost twenty years, Eight Days of Hope (EDOH) has responded to 95 natural disasters beginning with Hurricane Katrina. As we start 2025, the Christian non profit organization is now preparing to respond to the wildfires ravaging southern California.
"Fires are so unique," said EDOH Founder Steve Tybor, who is from Buffalo. "It's a huge challenge. Tornadoes and hurricanes come in and move on and you can begin helping the next day. It's too dangerous right now to respond to the fires."
Tybor said he is connecting with churches and organizations near the Eaton fire and the Pallisades fire.
"We have started to collect some resources and we can quickly pivot. But we can't send anyone in there today. It's just too dangerous of a situation."
For now, the organization plans to mimic what they did in Hawaii when the Lahaina fire broke out in 2023.
They are in the process of raising money to provide for families in need in California. Specifically, EDOH is working to provide temporary lodging, food, diapers and baby formula.
"It's so much different than when we respond to a flooding event or a tornado or a hurricane. We can't get right in there," said Tybor.
"With Katrina," he said, "it was like a bomb dropped. All of these structures were destroyed. But some were able to be rebuilt. When I went to Maui, it was like a bomb dropped, again, but then it was like someone poured gasoline on everything and then lit a match. There was nothing there and that's why the rebuilding of all of these homes will not happen quickly because there's so much that has to be done and building codes will have to be modified. This will be a two, three, or four year battle."
Something else that Tybor expects Eight Days of Hope to help with is sifting.
"You take 4 pieces of wood with mesh in the middle. We can actually sift through their property to try to find keepsakes, such a pictures and jewelry
to bring families some closure. But we need to let the next couple of weeks play out because the fires are still ongoing."
Anyone interested in helping can go to their site, EightDaysofHope.com and submit their email address. You will be alerted when
plans do come together.
To make a donation, you can text the word hope to 86373 or make a contribution online at EightDaysofHope.com.