California Fires: How to Help
Project HOPE is on the ground in Los Angeles in response to historic wildfires, which continue decimating communities and displacing tens of thousands of people.
Multiple wildfires have caused widespread damage across Los Angeles, displacing nearly 180,000 people and decimating communities. Project HOPE’s emergency response team is on the ground actively distributing hygiene kits and procuring high-need items for shelters and health clinics to meet the greatest health and humanitarian needs.
Project HOPE is coordinating with the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics to assess outstanding needs at local health clinics who primarily serve under-resourced communities.
Read on to learn more about how you can help.
How is Project HOPE responding to the wildfires in Los Angeles?
Project HOPE has an emergency response team on the ground actively distributing hygiene kits and procuring high-need items for shelters and health clinics, including personal protective equipment (PPE) with a focus on high-quality particulate-filtering masks to reduce smoke inhalation. Our team continues to assess conditions at shelters and health clinics across the greater Los Angeles area, while coordinating with government officials and local organizations to identify the greatest health and humanitarian needs.
Our team is also coordinating with our longstanding partner, the National Association of Free & Charitable Clinics, to assess outstanding needs at local health clinics who primarily serve under-resourced communities. One clinic our team visited does not have any practitioners on duty right now because they have either lost their home, evacuated, or are awaiting potential evacuations.
As with any U.S.-based emergency response, we are focused on how best to support those who are most vulnerable during disasters, including children, women, people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, and historically marginalized communities.
Additionally, our longstanding partner SAMU has an emergency response team on the ground to support needs related to emergency logistics and debris clearance for search and rescue or recovery operations. Project HOPE and SAMU previously conducted joint responses to the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Morocco in 2023 and Hurricane Milton in Florida in 2024, providing search and rescue assistance, delivering supplies, and assisting first responders.
As the impacts of this crisis unfold, Project HOPE is prepared to provide additional support related to mental health and respiratory health needs, which we expect will have both urgent and long-lasting implications for impacted communities.
What are the greatest health needs following the wildfires?
Project HOPE’s team has visited shelters across Los Angeles to identify the greatest needs, which include personal protective equipment, hygiene supplies, bedding, and other non-food items. Additionally, local community-based organizations have highlighted the vulnerability of unhoused populations and other marginalized communities who may not have access to government support.
Across Los Angeles, access to clean air and clean water is threatened, with water infrastructure compromised by debris and ash. Widespread smoke has led to unhealthy air quality across much of the city, which can cause serious health problems including heart attacks, strokes, asthma attacks, and difficulty breathing. People with pre-existing health conditions are most vulnerable to air quality conditions, along with older adults, people who are pregnant, children, and those who spend great amounts of time outdoors.
Additionally, mental health issues increase greatly during natural disasters. There will be a great need for mental health support during the emergency and throughout the recovery phase as tens of thousands of people are displaced from their homes. Exposure to climate events increases the risk of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). After Hurricane Katrina, nearly half of survivors experienced some form of anxiety or mood disorder, with one in six developing PTSD. While wildfires differ from hurricanes and the scales of devastation are different, we know that mental health issues are likely to skyrocket following this disaster.
“I’ve faced crises and emergencies across the country and around the world, but the apocalyptic conditions unfolding here in my own community of Los Angeles are unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” said Chessa Latifi, Deputy Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response for Project HOPE. “Fires with little to no containment continue to burn across the region – including in heavily populated areas – forcing 180,000 people to evacuate and putting another 200,000 on alert.
“The immediate destruction is staggering, but the long-term impacts will be felt for years to come – impacting people’s mental health, straining our health systems, and leaving thousands without a home or community to return to.”
“The apocalyptic conditions unfolding here in my own community of Los Angeles are unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. … The immediate destruction is staggering, but the long-term impacts will be felt for years to come.”
What is Project HOPE’s history in the U.S.?
Project HOPE has a long history of emergency response in the United States. Project HOPE most recently responded to Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton in 2024. Project HOPE also responded to Hurricane Idalia in 2023, Hurricane Ian in 2022, and Hurricane Ida in 2021 by providing surge staffing to health facilities, delivering urgently needed supplies to affected communities, and equipping health facilities with medicines and supplies.
Project HOPE previously partnered with free and charitable clinics across the southeast during the Covid-19 pandemic, helping dozens of clinics across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas provide more than 21,000 vaccines to communities in need. As frontline responders to underserved and under-resourced communities, charitable clinics are critical to improving health equity, especially during emergencies. Project HOPE is committed to supporting local responses and partnering with local organizations.
