How to Help California Wildfires Survivors

The Los Angeles wildfires broke out on January 7 and continue to affect huge swaths of the region. The devastation is widespread and ongoing, two dozen people have died so far, more than 10,000 homes have been destroyed, and more than 100,000 people have been evacuated. Even more people in the Los Angeles area have been impacted by the wildfires through power outages, road closures, and health issues from the drastic degradation of air quality.

With 15 years of experience serving disaster survivors, Team Rubicon has extensive knowledge about what anyone can do to help disaster victims. Here are the top things anyone can do to help California wildfires survivors now, and as they begin recovery efforts in the near future. 

Help Fund Los Angeles Wildfires Disaster Relief

For anyone outside the Los Angeles area wondering how to help wildfire victims, one of the most effective ways to support disaster relief is by donating to reputable organizations that specialize in disaster response. These organizations have the infrastructure and expertise to quickly mobilize resources where they are needed most.

Both National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and Charity Navigator keep lists of vetted, reputable nonprofits that specialize in disaster relief, as well as those who have stood up to help with California wildfire relief and recovery.

That includes Team Rubicon, which has provided mitigation services against wildfires in California for years, completing 45 wildfire mitigation projects in Southern California in just the last year. Since January 8, Team Rubicon volunteers—known as Greyshirts—have been assisting the communities struck by or in the path of the fires by distributing much-needed supplies to survivors, offering homeowners education in protecting their homes from fire, and providing just-in-time mitigation services to communities not yet affected. Greyshirts are communicating with local emergency managers and preparing for the long, difficult recovery once the fires have been extinguished.

Donate to Disaster Relief Needs Known and Unknown

Watching the conflagration in Los Angeles makes it feel as if giving anything could help. But in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, responders need to provide survivors with what they really need, in the moment, not what other people think they’ll need. Disasters happen suddenly and produce chaotic environments that rapidly evolve—what survivors need when the disaster hits may not be what is needed a week later.

The ability to deliver what is needed at the moment it is needed is why most nonprofits and disaster relief organizations maintain an unrestricted fund, or a ready reserve fund. Because it is not tied to a specific event or kind of crisis, unrestricted funding is adaptive and the single-most effective way to give: it allows nonprofits to purchase what they—and the survivors—actually need in the moment, even as the situation and resources change.

Donate Dollars Instead of Stuff

While good intentions may fuel the everyman to donate physical goods during times of great need, such donations often create what is known as the second disaster. When people send unsolicited donations to a disaster zone, they often create a dumping zone—and thus a second disaster that will have to be solved by the very people and communities they meant to help. 

In-kind donations come from a place of compassion and a desire to help from afar, but the challenge with unsolicited donated goods is often that what may be essential in the moments after a disaster can become useless or overwhelming just days later. Sometimes, the donations were simply not what was needed. Other times, a much-needed supply arrived on the heels of thousands of duplicate donations. 

No one wants their good intentions to turn to bad, yet when an individual sends their “stuff” to a disaster zone without knowing exactly what is needed, how it will be sorted, stored, or distributed, or what will happen if it can’t be used, they are placing an additional undue burden on the very communities and disaster survivors they think they are helping. 

The solution to the crisis of creating this kind of disaster-after-the-disaster, and wasting donors’ hard-earned money, is simple: Give cash—not goods—in the immediate wake of the disaster. Individuals and organizations can better serve disaster survivors and ensure the donor’s hard-earned money is spent on the specific kinds of goods and supplies survivors absolutely need, in the moment they need them, by donating cash to the nonprofit organizations that distribute those goods to survivors, or who purchase the supplies needed to restore homes damaged in disasters.

Coordinate Disaster Relief Donations for LA Wildfires With Nonprofits and Agencies on the Ground

Sometimes individuals have a surplus of things they think would help disaster survivors. If you’re donating goods to a disaster zone, only send new, unused items. It’s also essential that those looking to donate to California wildfires relief work directly with disaster response organizations and other agencies currently on the ground in Los Angeles. Those already working in the disaster zone can help donors identify the specific goods needed—diapers, school supplies, or nonperishable food, for example—and where to donate them. 

Volunteer to Help, But Stay Out of the Disaster Zone

Individuals looking to help communities devastated by the California wildfires should not enter recently burned areas. Those just looking to help can get injured and require a rescue that takes first responders away from the work at hand. Plus, in many places, the embers are still smoldering, and toxic debris remains. 

Instead, anyone looking for opportunities to volunteer to assist LA wildfire victims and communities should register their time helping at shelters, drive-up distribution centers, or with a California VOAD. 

Volunteer Opportunities for California Wildfires 

One great way to help California wildfires survivors, or those recovering from any disaster, is by volunteering for disaster relief operations. 

Team Rubicon Greyshirts who want to step into the arena should watch their email and phone for deployment opportunities. Until then, they can visit Roll Call to find local service projects to volunteer on—including numerous wildfire mitigation projects—and register their availability for forthcoming projects and operations. Not yet signed up as a disaster relief volunteer? Join Team Rubicon and become a Greyshirt to help California wildfire survivors and others, now and in the future.