On January 7th, in Los Angeles, California multiple wildfires caused thousands of residents’ homes destruction and evacuations.
Dry conditions and high winds are believed to have caused the wildfires. The deaths continue to rise, with the latest being at least 25 confirmed casualties. Multiple active fires are still burning in areas such as Eaton, Pasilades, and Hurst. These neighborhoods are costly with houses that cost up to 4.7 million dollars.
Due to smoke contamination, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power requires residents to use only bottled water for everyday life. This is because benzene is a potential cancer-causing chemical. However, because active fires are still burning, they are still unable to test when water is available and safe to drink again.
Residents are also fleeing their homes, only grabbing essentials and leaving behind clothing and cherished items. However, multiple celebrities have made generous donations, such as Beyonce with 2.5 million dollars and Halle Berry donating her wardrobe to those in need.
The fires have also had a lasting impact on the Los Angeles community. Families are returning and seeing their homes destroyed to pieces. Many also have nowhere to go and are struggling to find a place to stay. Some of the people who lost their homes include celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Leighton Meester, and many more.
Many firefighters are also trying their hardest to contain all the fires they are issuing urgent warnings and curfews to keep citizens safe. Schools have still been closed until further notice and people are becoming more antsy for family and friends in the fires.
Recovery efforts have increased with many GoFundMe accounts, massive donations, and over a thousand prison inmates helping firefighters with conversation camps. All of the inmates are volunteers as well. This greatly helps the efforts of everybody all around LA.
As of January 23rd, all evacuation orders were lifted and no more were announced. Many fires are slowing down, due to the great efforts of the community around. There has also been little damage to other structures and no injuries.
Although the fires are contained, everything helps. Donating can go a long way, you can find many sites and foundations to help the cause, such as the California Fire Foundation, the Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation, and many more.
Links to Donate:
https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/wildfire-relief/california
https://www.cafirefoundation.org/what-we-do/for-communities/disaster-relief
