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Bay Area Red Cross Volunteers To Help Arizona Wildfire Victims

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Several volunteers with Bay Area chapters of the American Red Cross were headed out on a long road trip, to help out those devastated by the recent wildfires in Arizona.

The Yarnell Hill Fire near Prescott, Arizona is not an ordinary wildfire, in its size and vengeance.

"It is a special fire in the sense it has been so tragic," said Bob Hernandez, a volunteer who is headed to Arizona.

Bay Area Red Cross Volunteers To Help Arizona Wildfire Victims

Nineteen firefighters were killed in the blaze and more than 100 homes have been destroyed.

Hernandez, who lives in Antioch, said he's happy to be volunteering his time to help those in need.

"We're going there to help in any way that we can. We want to help everybody there – the fire department, the public and just be there for support," he said.

The Red Cross was deploying two emergency response vehicles with teams of two volunteers each. Kelley Schaefer plans to be gone from her home in Concord for at least two weeks. "I'm just looking forward to helping people out," she said.

Hernandez and Schaefer will be working with the Southern Baptists, who have set up an outdoor kitchen. "We can serve approximately a thousand meals a day from the truck, so we'll be busy," Hernandez said.

The pair will be joined by Red Cross volunteers from Santa Clara, Mill Valley and Oakland.

(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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