Colorado Man Helps Many Affected By Hawaii's Explosive Kilauea Volcano
(CBS4) - For more than two months Kilauea's lava flow has left the Hawaiians in its path in a combination of awe and terror. Some have lost homes, others have been evacuated.
CBS4's Rick Sallinger found people staying in tents near the volcano during a trip there in which he filed radio reports.
In a Hilo market not far from that scene, Sallinger met a man named Zach Hahn who recently moved from Colorado to Hawaii. He was trying to help the victims.
"Well, we have the means necessary to help those who have lost everything," he said.
Hahn moved from Greeley to the Big Island last year. He has created T-shirts that are being sold to aid the volcano victims. The money is going to a fund for evacuees. The shirts mark the Kilauea eruption and its impact on the Puna area in the southeastern part of the Big Island.
Hahn's efforts have been highlighted in Hawaii's biggest newspaper the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
Inside Leilani Estates many hundreds of homes have been destroyed. Others have been under evacuation orders.
Hahn feels for the displaced people.
"I mean they have lost their livelihoods. Their hopes, their dreams. And we wanted to make sure we could help these people any way possible," he said.
$1,500 has been raised through the sale of Hahn's T-shirts so far. For more information about the T-shirts, Hahn can be reached at: tz@tz-designz.com
CBS4's Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.
