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LAHAINA, Hawaii (WBZ NewsRadio) — IHeartMedia is doing its part to help the victims of the devastating wildfires on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
The wildfires that began last Tuesday are the deadliest in modern U.S. history, killing at least 106 people, according to officials. More than 2,200 structures were destroyed or damaged and thousands of residents were displaced as the fires ravaged the island.
"When you have a fire that moves that fast, there’s nothing you can do to really prepare for it," IHeartMedia Honolulu Program Director John Matthews told WBZ NewsRadio Wednesday. "All means of communications were down. In the first few days--the first three, four, five days of this disaster--it was AM radio and FM radio that were carrying the bulk of information that people needed to hear on the island of Maui."
Now, IHeartMedia is teaming with the American Red Cross of Hawaii for iHeartHelpsMaui.com. 100 percent of donations will go directly towards supporting the victims of the Maui wildfires.
"You may have even gotten text messages or unsolicited emails saying that somebody is raising funds for this or that. So many of those are bad actors," warned Matthews. "There are very good foundations that are doing work too. It’s so hard to tell what’s good from what’s not good. 'iHeartHelpsMaui' is one of the good ones."
WBZ NewsRadio's Tina Gao (@TinaGaoOnAir) spoke with IHeartMedia Honolulu Program Director John Matthews:
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