The positively charged cloud particles ride the updrafts to 15 km or so. Thus, the tops of the clouds become positively charged with respect to the ionosphere. Upward going lightning has been observed, but much of the current flows by conduction, possibly causing the red glow in question. Maybe the observers were looking up inside the clear eye and seeing this glow. Another possibility is St Elmo's fire caused by a strong low level electrical field.
Many hurricanes are quiet electrically, probably because they have little mixed-phase precipitation.
On the other hand, we sometimes observe spectacular light shows. I hope all this speculation is of some help. It's at least plausible if not right. There was lightning reported in Camille's eyewall by the last Air Force recon crew that flew into it before landfall, However, the only thing I can think of that would cause a red glow would be exploding power transformers on electrical lines. In Andrew, when it made landfall in South Dade, this occurred frequently due to the large number of power lines.