By Doug Fletcher,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Numbers quickly add up, but Doug Hoyt isn’t too keen on the total: $12,000 – in the red.

Hoyt is the executive director the United Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross. He’s wondering if he’s going to have to turn to the organization’s national offices for money to pay for local disaster relief.

It’s been a tough nine months. Not counting 19 people being helped from a disastrous Auburn fire last week, the local chapter has responded to 45 incidents and assisted 195 people. That’s 195 people who have found a roof over their heads, food in their belly and clothes on their back, thanks to the Red Cross.

The agency has spent $42,926 taking care of those needs, and ran up the $12,000 debt in the process.

It’s still helping some people displaced in last week’s fire, as well as a family displaced by a single-family house fire Sunday in Winthrop.

Now, Hoyt says, Red Cross is planning for the likelihood of floods by the weekend as rain and snowmelt threaten to raise river levels. That could keep the red ink flowing, and there are three months remaining in the fiscal year before a new budget cycle sets in.

Red Cross, the agency that helps others when times get tough, is looking for little help for itself, Hoyt said.

The local chapter – it provides services in Oxford, Franklin, southern Kennebec and Androscoggin counties – is planning a special fund drive.

Called a “Day of Disaster” campaign, it will run from Thursday through May 31. Businesses as well as individuals are being encouraged to donate $346.06 if they can.

That’s how much the chapter spends each day on local disaster relief. Hoyt said it cost $126,311 in all to help 261 people affected by 50 house fires last year. He divided the amount by 365 – the number of days in a year – to come up with Day of Disaster figure.

“Every gift is welcome,” he added, noting that not everyone could afford to cover a full day’s cost. And people who want to help but can’t do so financially are welcomed as Red Cross volunteers.