The Situation
When wildfires tore through Los Angeles County on January 7, 2025, Team Rubicon didn’t wait for the smoke to clear.
Within days, TR activated an Emergency Operations Center out of its LA headquarters. Greyshirt heavy equipment operators and chainsaw teams hit the ground, clearing debris-clogged roadways so fire crews could stay focused on the front lines.
The scale of destruction was staggering. The Palisades Fire alone destroyed more than 6,800 structures and forced 105,000 residents from their homes. By the time both fires were fully contained, 25 days after ignition, 18,000 buildings had been damaged or destroyed across the region.
Team Rubicon’s Work, Measured
Team Rubicon was the sole NGO granted secure access to the affected area of the Pacific Palisades fire, a milestone that speaks to the trust emergency managers place in the organization’s trained, disciplined volunteer force. Greyshirts set up distribution sites which supplied water and ice to power outage-affected areas, conducted various wildfire mitigation actions in Ventura County to reduce the risk of future ignitions, and began collaborating with emergency managers on mudslide preparedness for the months ahead.
When the Eaton Fire ignited, it tore through Altadena with devastating speed. The fire burned more than 14,000 acres, destroying or damaging 7,000 structures and disproportionately affecting Black residents, a community whose deep roots and generational history were reduced to ash in a matter of hours.
In the immediate aftermath, a month-long recovery operation that launched in late May 2025, Greyshirts were on the ground in Altadena conducting tree removal, roof tarping, sandbagging, and flood protection. Tree cleanup eliminated hazardous fire-killed trees and future ignition risks, roof tarping shielded compromised structures from rain and further deterioration, and sandbagging addressed the heightened post-fire threat of mudslides on Altadena’s exposed hillsides.
The work continued long after the initial response, Greyshirts returned weeks later to chip burned vegetative debris and install protective fencing to prevent illegal dumping on vacant lots.
I am so thankful for my entire experience with Team Rubicon, especially with my interactions with every single person I’ve met or talked to. How caring, cheerful & eager to help.
– Sally, survivor from Operation Purple Sage
What Came Next
As the fires were contained and evacuation orders lifted, Team Rubicon shifted from emergency response to the harder, slower work of recovery. Greyshirts supported residents in successfully navigating the re-entry process, demonstrating the use of city-provided re-entry kits, and walking survivors through the heartbreaking process of returning to neighborhoods reduced to ash and rubble.
Team Rubicon also began collaborating with emergency managers to prepare communities for the secondary threats that follow wildfire, including mudslides, addressing long-term resilience alongside immediate recovery. After officially closing out all operations in California in July 2025, the mission was never just about debris removal, roof tarping, sandbagging, or flood protection, it was about showing up for people on their worst days, and not leaving until the work was done.
How You Can Help
The work that followed these fires was funded by donors who gave before they knew where we’d be needed. Donate to our Ready Reserve.
How You Can Help
The work that followed these fires was funded by donors who gave before they knew where we’d be needed. Donate to our Ready Reserve.