NorCal and SoCal residents have always had their friendly rivalries, from who has the best sports teams or beaches to which locale is the better place to live, But it’s safe to say that in recent days East Bay residents — so many of whom have loved ones down south — have been watching the devastation unfold 405 miles away with a mix of sadness, fear that it could happen here and uncertainty about how to help.
Richmondside assembled a guide to help you stay on top of the latest news, offer assistance and evaluate how your own firestorm preparation.
How to help victims of Los Angeles wildfires
First, here’s how to help our southern neighbors who are directly affected by the Los Angeles County firestorm. You can help by donating money, materials or even your time.
Most in need, according to the Los Angeles Times, are the communities in and around Pacific Palisades, Altadena, Pasadena, Sylmar and Hollywood. The blazes have collectively have scorched more than 28,000 acres and destroyed more than 2,000 homes, businesses and other buildings, according to the Los Angeles Times.
State, regional and local grassroots organizations are collecting money and recruiting volunteers to help those displaced or affected. There is also a call for supporting the Los Angeles Fire Department by donating to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.
Do you have stories from the Los Angeles fires you want to share, either a personal experience or thought or something noteworthy experienced by your friends or family members? Drop a comment below or email us at hello@richmondside.org.
Here are a few key resources that you can give help through:
- The Red Cross is often at the frontlines of such disasters. You can support them by making a donation online, by calling (800) 733-2767 or texting REDCROSS to 90999.
- You can also support the California Fire Foundation Wildfire and Disaster Relief Fund with an online monetary donation, which directly supports victims of wildfires and disasters throughout California, including the Los Angeles County area.
- CBS News and ABC7 have also compiled lists of local, statewide and national agencies that offer resources for disaster survivors, deploy volunteers and are otherwise helping those displaced or worse by the fires.
- And, the fundraising platform GoFundMe has collated a list of verified fundraisers raising money for people affected by this week’s fires in Southern California. Like the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army is also offering shelter, food and other services to evacuees, as well as to firefighters and law enforcement officers. They are accepting donations online or by check.
Richmond City Council member advocates for fire safety
Richmond City Council member Soheila Bana, District 4, who has long been vocal about pushing better fire safety among Richmond hills residents and citywide, reacted to the Los Angeles wildfires Wednesday by sending an email to her supporters saying that she plans to propose increasing the number of firefighters in west Contra Costa County wildfire-prone areas.
As chair of the West Contra Costa Fire Safe Council she has proposed a countywide evacuation traffic analysis using Measure X funds. Evacuations were difficult in Los Angeles, with multiple news sites posting photos of gridlocked roads where cars had been abandoned as their occupants tried to run to safety.
In fact, anyone can propose a Measure X fire prevention project. Visit the Contra Costa Fire Protection District’s fire mitigation page for more information.
Bana said she plans to discuss finding a way to increase the number of firefighters on Richmond fire engines from three to four in high-risk areas, saying that having four-per-engine reduces the time it takes to extinguish a fire by 25%.
She said the Fire Safe Council Alliance is proposing a vegetation mitigation program for the East Bay hills, from Pinole to Castro Valley.
For real-time information about fires here and in Los Angeles, Bana recommends the Watch Duty app, which provides alerts and evaluation information.
fires and other emergencies wherever you live.
“Good things are underway at macro level,” Bana said in her email. “Please consider doing your part at micro level by becoming Firewise and starting to use the informational tool Watch Duty to prepare for evacuation.”
Resources for keeping up with Los Angeles fire news
The flood of news about the Los Angeles fires can feel overwhelming. Here is a quick summary of the status of the main fires on Friday as well as a few of our favorite reputable news sources that are providing coverage.
The fires, checkered throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area and fanned by winds approaching 100 mph in places, have killed at least 10 people and wiped entire neighborhoods off the map. More than 150,000 people are under evacuation orders. The ignition sources for the fires were still not known.
The Palisades Fire, at 20,438 acres, was 8% contained as of midday Friday, according to Calfire. The Eaton fire north and northwest of Pasadena, at 13,690 acres, was only 3% contained.
Those two larger fires, which have burned since Tuesday, were continuing to grow Friday but, with winds finally subsiding, their rates of growth had finally slowed, the Associated Press reported Friday morning. However, the Santa Ana winds, similar to the hazardous Diablo Winds in Northern California, were expected to pick back up on Sunday.
Firefighters had made much more progress on the smaller Kenneth, Hurst and Lidia fires, which were all 1,000 acres or smaller and were between 35% and 75% contained as of Friday. The smallest fire in the area, the Archer Fire, ignited Friday and had burned 19 acres.
For the most updated information, here are a few sources to bookmark:
- The Los Angeles Times live fire coverage blog, updated by the minute.
- The CalFire incident page, where you can see a quick summary of statistics for current emergencies and fires 10 acres or larger.
- LAist, an independent, nonprofit newsroom that is also home to L.A.’s largest NPR station broadcasting, 89.3 FM, also is providing live on-air fire coverage.
How to prepare for a wildfire
- Wildfire Guide: Our sister publication Berkeleyside offers a comprehensive Wildfire Guide that has a wealth of information that is applicable to Richmond, which shares many of the housing, geographical and vegetation characteristics that make this a beautiful place to live but a dangerous one if a wildland fire happens.
- Be Firewise: Consider organizing your neighborhood to become officially Firewise, a national program that, according to Contra Costa Fire’s website, “provides a collaborative framework to help neighbors in a geographic area get organized, find direction, and take action to increase the fire resistance of their homes and community and to reduce wildfire risks at the local level.” Learn more here.
- Sign up for your community’s local emergency text alert service. Nixle is a commonly used one. Just text 888777 to opt-in.
- Educate yourself about the Richmond Fire Department’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan. Its goal is to reduce hazards by providing information and education about wildfires, hazardous fuels reduction, actions to reduce structure ignitability and other recommendations to assist emergency preparedness and fire suppression efforts. It also coordinates with other stakeholders.
- Learn about fire prevention at the Contra Costa Fire Protection district’s website.
Alex N. Gecan and Roselyn Romero of Berkeleyside contributed to this report.
