Thousands of people have been driven from their homes by the devastating pair of wildfires in Northern and Southern California. If you want to help right now, there are many ways to do so.
The most helpful thing to do is to give money. The most urgently useful place is, unsurprisingly, emergency aid.
Some organizations are statewide, but others are regional, and that matters because there the two main fires are raging far apart from one another. The Woolsey and Hill Fires in Southern California have burned through more than 100,000 acres in Ventura and Los Angeles counties and destroyed hundreds of homes and other structures. Hill Fire is mostly contained, but the larger Woolsey Fire is still raging, and with dangerous Santa Ana winds whipping the blaze, it has the potential to do more damage. If you’d like to donate to charities focused on Southern California fires, the United Way of Greater Los Angeles has partnered with the United Way of Ventura County and is raising money to help low-income residents.
California fires: At least 42 die in state’s deadliest wildfire
If you’d like to specifically help victims of the Camp Fire, the North Valley Community Foundation in Chico is raising money for shelters. The Enloe Medical Center in Chico is raising money for caregivers and patients who have lost their homes. And like in Southern California, the United Way of Northern California is asking for donations, but its relief fundwill provide emergency cash grants and other help to victims more broadly.
Instead of handing out supplies, the California Fire Foundation is providing short-term financial assistance for those who suffered “catastrophic losses” to be able to buy basic necessities. For more long-term aid, the California Community Foundation, which is ranked higher than the Red Cross on its management of finances and donations, has a wildfire relief fund. Grants from the fund will be offered to help rebuild homes and provide financial and mental health assistance.
