California fires in LA: Highland Park native, Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan evacuates as Los Angeles fires rage on [Video]

CHICAGO (WLS) — Local American Red Cross volunteers from Illinois are now in California, supporting wildfire relief efforts there.

ABC7 spoke with Vicky Brown, a volunteer from Rockford, on Friday morning.

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She is leaving for the fire zone on Saturday as many now face an uncertain future.

“Emotionally, you know you’re going to hear a lot of heart-wrenching stories,” Brown said.

Brown, who has 45 years of experience with the Red Cross, spent a month in the northeast, supporting disaster relief after Hurricane Helene.

Now, she is heading to California.

“I’ve never quite dealt with this many people. Helene was horrendous, and this one is shaping up to affect so many people that have lost everything,” Brown said.

Highland Park native and Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan was forced to evacuate to escape the Los Angeles wildfires.

Corgan described an apocalyptic situation on social media, saying, “We lost power last night and …