BENTON, Ark. — Hurricane Ida has moved on from Louisiana, leaving behind a trail of destruction. Now, the real work can begin. Baja Grill in Benton is helping how they can by donating food and supplies.
"Being hit by this and how bad it might be," Heather Baber-Roe, owner of Baja Grill, said. "I mean, we're just happy we're in a position we can do it."
Images of the destruction spurred Heather and her husband, Craig Roe, to action.
"Like, made the decision and he was ready to go, like very tearful, thinking about everybody," Baber-Roe said.
Craig left for Thibodaux, Louisiana, just after midnight Monday night.
It's a small city just north of where the brunt of Ida hit.
"So he went to the store and sent me a picture of all these generators, just kinda making a joke about it," Baber-Roe said. "I said, 'Why don't you buy them and just donate, go down there and donate them.'"
Craig's been in Thibodaux since early Tuesday morning handing out generators, gas and other supplies, trying to provide some relief to the many left with nothing.
"Yeah, it's been busy, it's pretty rough," Craig told us.
Craig was able to find time for a quick phone call in between the work he's doing. He said his work goes beyond the supplies he's donated.
"Probably eight families?"
Anyone with a loved one close to the area Craig is in can send their address to Baja Grill. Baber-Roe makes sure those get passed to Craig and then he checks in on them.
"Send 'em on, send 'em on," Craig said. "If we can get to them and check on 'em, well, I'll do whatever I can to get there."
"We have been blessed recently, and so, you know, with these restaurants," Baber-Roe said. "So it's a way for him and for us to finally be able to do something for people and in the past, there was no way we could."
Craig said he doesn't know exactly how long he'll be in Thibodaux – just that people still need help.
Even when the supplies run out, he said he's still got hands and a chainsaw to keep fixing what he can.
"You know, I have had thoughts of jut staying down here and just driving into the worst areas, and see some elderly or somebody who looks like they need help trying to do something, and just help them out," he said.
Baber-Roe said they're not asking for donations, because they don't know when they can get back down to Thibodaux.
If you have a loved one in the area who may need some help or needs to be checked on, you can message Baja Grill on Facebook, or send an email to admin@eatbajagrill.com and it'll be passed along to Craig.