How to help people impacted by the Los Angeles fires

The Palisades and Eaton fires ravaging Los Angeles this week continue to burn, so far destroying more than 10,000 structures and displacing thousands of residents.

The Palisades fire, which has burned nearly 20,000 acres as of Friday morning, has destroyed at least 5,300 structures as of Thursday. The Eaton fire has resulted in the loss of at least 5,000 structures as of Thursday

The two blazes have resulted in the deaths of at least 10 people. Between those two fires and the several other burning in Los Angeles County, at least 180,000 residents have been under evacuation orders.

Though the fires are a few hundred miles away, there are many ways Bay Area residents can help those impacted by the blaze. The following organizations and fundraisers are accepting donations for efforts ranging from providing immediate shelter and food items for people and pets to helping families who lost everything to the flames rebuild.

Food

• World Central Kitchen, an organization that provides free meals to community members and first responders in the wake of climate and humanitarian crises, is currently on the front lines in Los Angeles. So far, the effort has several emergency kitchens and food truck partners distributing meals across Los Angeles. The organization accepts donations on their website.
• The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is working with partner organizations to provide food to those displaced by the fires. To donate from afar, the food bank accepts cash donations here.

Community and grassroots organizing

• GoFundMe has put together a hub of verified fundraisers for families who lost homes and businesses in the fires, which is being continuously updated. They also have a general Wildfire Relief Fund that provides cash grants directly to those impacted by the fires within one to two days.
• Local community organizers have also created centralized lists of fundraisers, most hosted on GoFundMe, for their friends and neighbors in both the Palisades and Eaton fires.
• Seconds Market, a clothing swap service, has launched a form connecting donors who want to send spare clothes directly to someone who was impacted by the fires. Donors and recipients are matched by size, gender and age, and donors can ship the clothes to their recipient.

First responders and front-line organizations

• The California Fire Foundation is providing direct financial support to impacted residents and firefighters of the LA fires in conjunction with local fire agencies and community organizations. They are accepting donations for the California fires disaster relief fund here.
• The California Community Foundation Wildlife Recovery Fund distributes grants to local organizations, such as those that help rebuild homes, provide mental health support, provide safety equipment for first responders and more.
• The Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation is seeking emergency donations to help purchase emergency fire shelters, hydration backpacks and wildland brush tools to help keep firefighters safe and to help them battle the flames.
• The Watch Duty App, a nonprofit app that has been tracking the paths of the LA fires with a team of volunteers, accepts donations here. If you have prior experience as a reporter, firefighter, software engineer or have other related skills, you could also volunteer with Watch Duty to help provide fast-moving updates to the app’s users.
• The American Red Cross is providing shelters, food and other critical supplies to those displaced by the fire. With more than 200 aid workers currently in Los Angeles, they are accepting donations to help fund their work.
• The Global Empowerment Mission, an aid organization founded after the 2010 Haiti Earthquake, in partnership with bstrong and Stable Road Foundation is providing supplies and cash cards to evacuated residents of Los Angeles. Their mission is accepting donations to help their response.
• The Salvation Army is accepting donations to a specific wildfire relief fund to help provide shelter, food and personal necessities to those impacted by the fires.

Children

• Save the Children is working to provide child-focused supplies to impacted families, including blankets, portable chargers, water bottles, children’s activity kits and more. A donation to their Children’s Emergency Fund helps their response efforts to natural disasters including their wildfire work.
• Baby2Baby is on the ground in Los Angeles, where it has provided more than one million emergency supplies including food, formula, hygiene products and diapers to impacted families in conjunction with 470 partner organizations such as schools and shelters. They are accepting donations to help them continue this disaster response work.
• Project: Camp is bringing its camps to LA, which provide trauma-informed childcare to give parents the time to rebuild after natural disasters, and is accepting donations to help with its work.

Pets and animals

• Pasadena Humane has taken in over 300 animals as of Wednesday evening, including many with burns and injuries who are receiving treatment in their intensive care unit. They are anticipating the arrival of many more animals who need help as the fires continue and any monetary donations go towards their care.
• Best Friends, another animal shelter organization, has a team on the ground in Los Angeles assisting through “pet pantries” providing pet supplies and transporting pets in shelters out of Los Angeles and into other cities. In addition to cash donations, they are seeking Amazon gifts of pet crates that are sold out across LA.