BALTIMORE, Md. — If you've spent any time on the internet in the last week, you've seen the videos—the ones that look like they were taken straight out of an apocalypse movie, showing the devastation from the fires in Southern California.
But when someone you know took the video, suddenly the thousands of miles between coasts don't feel so far.
"It's so many people I know; a ton of my friends live there," Patrick Martin said. "I'm out there playing shows a lot. It hits on a lot of levels; seeing just a neighborhood as a pile of ash is insane."
Patrick Martin is the co-owner of Metro Baltimore, a music venue on North Charles Street. His family grew up near where the fires are burning. His friend in the music industry, Brian, works for Carhartt there and took these videos on his phone. He's organizing relief efforts for both victims and first responders. And he's about to get a big shipment from here in Maryland.
"We're 3,000 miles away, but having a connection to stuff, you want to help anyone that's in trouble, no matter where it is," Martin told WMAR-2 News. "It's like, oh, this guy who played here six months ago that was just cool and full of stories when he was here, that guy doesn't have a house anymore. What can we do to help that guy?"
Metro is collecting donations this week to send directly to the Carhartt facility. High-priority items include bottled water, socks, tarps, medical and respirator masks, and first aid kits.
"Everybody needs water. Everybody needs food," Martin said. "Some people need clothes, but that's one thing I noticed they're not asking for is clothes, because a lot of these people have no place to put them right now, so pretty much day-to-day toiletry items can help immediately."
He doesn't know exactly what to expect in terms of turnout, but he's heard from a lot of people who want to help.
"We're pretty much ready for whatever comes through, and we'll deal with the shipping is gonna be a bit of a hurdle, but that'll be something I figure out when it gets to that point."
You can drop off items at Metro on Tuesday from 12-6 p.m. or Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information on what items they are looking for, click here.