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In the midst of three major fires in Southern California that have claimed the lives of at least 24 people and burned nearly 40,000 acres – first responders and organizations across the South Bay Area have worked to lend a helping hand.
The Palo Alto Fire Department arrived in Los Angeles on the morning of Jan. 8 with a Fire Line paramedic, the Engine 65 crew and more recently a Palo Alto firefighter focused on search and rescue, according to city spokesperson Meghan Horrigan-Taylor.
The Menlo Park Fire Protection District has sent out three strike teams and Cal Fire San Mateo and Santa Clara County units are also deployed.
In California, it’s typical to pull resources from all over the state, but in this case, that call to action has extended outside of the country, said Colin Noyes, Cal Fire public information officer – with more than 5,000 responders helping with the fires.
“Right now the official number is that the Palisades fire is 13% contained,” he said. “We expect that to increase tomorrow with all the crews doing such good work, if we don’t get any surprises.”
The Eaton fire, which accounted for 16 of the 24 deaths, is 33% contained, according to a live Cal Fire incident map.
It is possible more Bay Area responders will be called down to relieve firefighters currently on the scene, Noyes said.
“Even though we have continued to see fire growth over the last 48 hours, it is minimal compared to the first several days,” according to Cal Fire SZU.
In response to the fires, Peninsula groups have organized donation funds, drop boxes and resource pages for victims of the Los Angeles fires.
“It’s easy to think ‘it’s not my community,’ but we are all Californians, first and foremost,” said Crysta Krames, executive director of the Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation.
Just a day after the fires began on Jan. 7, the nonprofit created the Greater Los Angeles Wildfires Fund to provide financial assistance to individuals and families affected by the fires, as well as organizations involved in emergency response.
The organization’s partner, Christie’s Sereno 1% For Good Charitable Foundation, offered a one-to-one match of $7,500, and the community foundation is calling out to its donors to make similar matches.
“The destruction caused by the greater Los Angeles wildfires has been heartbreaking to witness,” wrote Chris Trappani, CEO of Christie’s Sereno in a statement.
So far, the Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation has raised $17,000 and will be funneling that money to Pasadena- and Los Angeles-based community foundations.
“We just wondered, ‘what can we do to start motivating local people to help?’” Krames said. “What can we do to nurture that culture of giving?”
The Kiwanis Club of Palo Alto, a service-based community organization, is gathering donations from members that will be distributed to a yet-to-be specified Kiwanis Club in the Southern California area, according to board member Marty Deggeller.
If anyone from the public would like to contribute to the fund, they can send a check made out to the Kiwanis Club of Palo Alto Charitable Foundation then mail it to KCPA Foundation, P.O. Box 149, Palo Alto, 94302, Deggeller wrote in an email. All contributions are tax-deductible.
This article may be updated to include more resources and organizations raising funds for relief.
