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California Wildfires

STATUS
Active Emergency
DATE
January 2025
REGION
Los Angeles County

Situation

Multiple wildfires are burning large swaths of Los Angeles County and have charred more than 30,000 acres, damaging or destroying thousands of structures, including homes, schools and businesses. In the first week, more than two dozen people were confirmed dead and more than 150,000 residents were forced to evacuate for safety. By day seven, the two largest fires were less than 35 percent contained, and high winds prompted new red flag warnings. In Los Angeles, the fires are also producing smoke that has spread throughout the region, creating air quality alerts and raising health risks, especially for people with respiratory conditions such as asthma and COPD. Officials also warned residents in many areas not to drink or cook with tap water as the fires had damaged reservoirs and pumps, threatening water quality. Evacuations are still in order as dangerous conditions prevail from ongoing fires, dry winds, downed power lines, debris and inaccessibility to many devastated neighborhoods.

Jake Wheeler (right) delivers a package of 300 N95 masks to Karla Rugamas (left) of Vida Mobile Clinic on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 in Granada Hills, California (Photo/Mike Demas).

Wildfires fueled by dry conditions and strong Santa Ana winds erupted in the Los Angeles area early Monday, January 6, 2025, forcing thousands to evacuate and threatening homes and businesses.
Jake Wheeler (right) delivers a package of 300 N95 masks to Karla Rugamas (left) of Vida Mobile Clinic on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 in Granada Hills, California (Photo/Mike Demas). Wildfires fueled by dry conditions and strong Santa Ana winds erupted in the Los Angeles area early Monday, January 6, 2025, forcing thousands to evacuate and threatening homes and businesses.

Our Response

Americares is focused on meeting the health needs in communities devastated by the California wildfire crisis. Our teams are actively delivering medicine, masks, safe drinking water and relief supplies for wildfire survivors throughout southern California. We are also prepared to provide emergency funding and deploy medical staff and disaster mental health specialists as needed. 

Americares immediately contacted more than 70 partners throughout the region, including 24 health organizations in Los Angeles that serve low-income, uninsured patients, and deployed an emergency response team to Los Angeles to deliver aid and coordinate shipments. Partner clinics and local organizations are requesting N95 masks and respiratory and chronic disease medications – critical for people who fled their homes without the medicine they need to maintain their health. Within the first week, Americares and Primo Brands partnered to deliver truckloads of water to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank for distribution to area residents. “We are meeting immediate health needs and will continue to help people access health services in the weeks and months to come,” says Americares U.S. Director of Emergency Response Mariel Fonteyn. “The scale of this disaster is immense, and we will provide local health organizations with the resources they need to protect the health of survivors.”