How to Help During the California Wild Fires
If you’ve been watching the news - or god forbid, a part of the evacuated residents - you know that there is a disastrous wild fire going on in California.
There are four separate wild fires in the same area right now and homes, towns and cities are being demolished.
I live about 100 miles away from where the fires are and seeing the images breaks my heart.
I heard someone the other day refer to the people losing their homes as “celebrities losing their vacation homes” and that’s not the truth and doesn’t even touch on the severity. While the news might so the homes of more famous people, they are still losing their home and their memories. Beyond those persons, there are thousands and thousands of people who are losing their home, apartment, belongings, jobs and in awful circumstances, their loved ones.
In a lot of situations, insurance companies tend to be overwhelmed in response and often take years or more to provide coverage and towns take ever longer to build back.
If you’re looking for a way to help now, see below for a few we’ve found:
Staging Collective: Donating furniture, bedding, housewares and more to aide those who have lost.
LAFD Foundation: Addresses needs and equipment that firefighters need in real time.
California Community Foundation: Manages both short and long term recovery for those displaced and effected by the wildfires.
California Fire Foundation: Coordinates with local fire departments and organizations to provide financial relief to impacted residents.
Mutual Aid LA: A network highlighting where and how people can donate needed supplies. It also acts as a forum where those impacted can list what they most need.
LA Regional Food Bank: Accepting both food contributions and volunteers at multiple locations.
Emergency Network LA: Provides general assistance to those in need of relief.
LA Works: Focuses on mobilizing volunteers to disaster affected areas.
Pasadena Humane: Coordinates with animal control to evacuate animals and also working with shelters to take in animals of displaced families. By Wednesday, they had helped take in over 300 animals.
The League of California Community Foundations: A coalition of California nonprofits coordinating relief efforts, including rebuilding homes and dealing with the mental health impacts of the disaster.
Cal Fire Benevolent Foundation: Provides funds to injured firefighters and their families.
