More than 100 LA volunteers head to Houston to help with Hurricane Harvey relief efforts

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- More than 100 Los Angeles-area volunteers were flying to southeast Texas Saturday morning to help provide relief to those affected by Hurricane Harvey.

About 135 volunteers from Team Rubicon, a veteran-led disaster response organization, were deploying at about 8 a.m. from Los Angeles International Airport to Houston for free, thanks to American Airlines.

It's part of the airline's effort to donate 11 chartered flights from cities across the country to help Team Rubicon deploy up to 2,000 volunteers for the cleanup effort over the next six weeks.

The group is comprised of military veterans, first responders and other volunteers in the nonprofit, which is headquartered in L.A.

Team Rubicon COO Art Delacruz said members deployed during rescue operations after Hurricane Harvey and saved 73 people from floodwaters. Now, they hope to help affected families and veterans get back into their homes as soon as possible.

"(They're) really going to do the tough jobs - pulling all the drywall off, pulling all the furniture out and putting it onto the street because, really, we're in a race against deteriorating conditions in the home - mold and things like that," Delacruz said.