Cranston man helping with California wildfire relief

A Cranston man who moved to California at the beginning of this year is experiencing the wildfires first hand. The safari he works at was destroyed and he’s now doing what he can to help his new community recover.

Will Demers says seeing the wildfires in real life is nothing like what we see on TV. A lot of his friends and coworkers have lost everything so he started raising money and buying supplies. He’s even gotten help from Rhode Islanders.

As the Woolsey Fire rages on in California, a Rhode Island native has a front row seat to the devastation.

“Flames reaching 50 feet in the air and spreading at outrageous rates, going over 80,000 acres. It’s so scary and so surreal to watch,” says Demers.

He grew up in Cranston and moved out to California in January. He works as a tour guide at a popular wine safari in Malibu. Parts of the ranch there were torched in the fires.

“There’s a lot of structural damage but from some of the pictures it looks like a lot of the vineyards haven’t been touched. But a lot of the structures, a lot of the families that lived there have lost their homes unfortunately,” says Demers.

He lives 10 miles east and his house has not been impacted by the fires but seeing his friends and coworkers lose so much has motivated him to help.

“We didn’t want to feel helpless anymore. We started the venmo up yesterday just collecting funds, we did a bunch of trips to grocery stores and then it kind of just took off,” he says.

He’s even gotten donations from people here in Rhode Island who have never been to the ranch.

“It’s been really nice its been a light in the darkness we’ve had out here,” he says.

Malibu wine safari is known for its animals, especially Stanley the giraffe, their safety a concern for many.

“All of the animals are alright they have a bunch of vets on the property so its been really great to hear that for sure,” says Demers.

If you want to donate you can venmo @SafariWill.

© WLNE/ABC 6 2018