California Wildfire Relief

February 2021 – January 2026

All Hands and Hearts (AHAH) is responding to the most destructive wildfires in California’s history, where we’ve committed to a 12-month wildfire recovery effort to address both immediate and long-term community needs in Los Angeles County. Since toxic ash is still limiting volunteer access, we’ve partnered with local organizations to promote a direct, coordinated and sustainable response. Our short-term focus includes distributing aid, coordinating relief efforts and providing cash assistance for the most severely impacted vulnerable communities. In the long term, we are committed to supporting communities on their road to recovery while also working to reduce future wildfire risks through preparedness education, home hardening strategies and improved evacuation routes.

Find the details about volunteering on this program here.

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Current Activities

AHAH is on the ground in Los Angeles, actively supporting wildfire-affected communities through volunteer coordination, specialized goods distribution (including Personal Protective Equipment, PPE, to protect against exposure to hazards) and support for meal programs for displaced individuals. In partnership with local organization National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), we are facilitating debris removal and cleanup while creating job opportunities for day laborers impacted by the fires. Additionally, we are providing direct financial assistance in collaboration with CORE to support those in need. Through these partnerships, we are supporting essential, immediate recovery needs while reinvesting into the local economy, spurring a more comprehensive feedback system of support and recovery.

Los Angeles Wildfires

The Los Angeles Wildfires ignited on January 7, beginning with the Palisades Fire, which rapidly spread due to an extreme wind event. Just hours later, the Eaton Fire sparked, quickly intensifying the devastation. Both fires, along with several smaller blazes, tore through residential neighborhoods, local businesses and community centers, fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds and dangerously dry conditions. More than 50,000 acres burned, over 16,000 structures were destroyed and 28 lives were lost. At the peak of the crisis, more than 200,000 people were under evacuation orders, making this one of the most deadly and devastating wildfire events in California history.

Reina’s Story

“My name is Reina. I lived in Altadena in the ’70s and ’80s, and it holds so many memories — friends, family, even my wedding reception. Both homes I lived in burned, as did the Eaton Canyon Nature Center, where I knew the workers and their animals. The impact is indescribable. I have spoken to some of the other workers here from Eaton Canyon and Farnsworth Park, which was a landmark there. It was the only park with an open-seating theatre for the community, and now it’s burned down. Though I live 15 miles away, the winds shattered our windows. Losing a home is beyond words. Today, we’re feeding thousands of families. Thank you for standing with us and supporting our recovery.”

Program History

We focused on fuel breaks, brush clearing and minimizing potential fuels for protection against future wildfires. We also worked on rebuilding homes, partnering with Tiny Pine and the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) to get residents back into safe, permanent housing.

Our team welcomed California Emergency Response Corps (CERC) volunteers to support our mitigation and recovery efforts.. CERC is a statewide preparedness and response program to help Californians become better prepared to deploy to disasters such as wildfires, floods and earthquakes. Bay Area Community Resource (BACR) is the non-profit lead agency for the program. It is part of the more extensive statewide California Volunteer campaign to boost emergency preparedness in communities experiencing social isolation, poverty, language barriers and food insecurities.

In 2022, we extended our reach to support those affected by the 2020 North Complex Fire, which borders the 2018 Camp Fire burn scar. The deadliest fire in 2020 and the sixth largest in California’s modern history, the North Complex Fire culminated 21 unique fires and devastated an estimated 318,935 acres. This damage is the equivalent of an area over one and a half times the size of New York City.

This program combined the work of our two previous programs, focusing on the recovery of fire-affected communities and the mitigation to reduce the risks posed by future fires. We repaired the interiors of damaged homes, widened evacuation routes, constructed defensible spaces – the buffer around a home to slow or stop the spread of wildfire and removed hazardous trees with sawyers from our training program.

In partnership with Hope Crisis Response Network (HCRN) and Habitat for Humanity, we completed eight home rebuilds in Paradise and nearby Magalia by using fire-resilient strategies like double-paned windows and fire-resistant siding. In addition to constructing stronger homes, the team planted indigenous, fire-resilient trees to rehabilitate scorched land.
In the spring of 2021, we piloted our chainsaw training program in Paradise, California. Trainees created fuel breaks, defensible spaces and removed hazard trees from residential properties. In total, they felled 534 hazard trees and cleared 11 acres to create a fuel break.
Lives Impacted
Volunteers
Rebuilds and Repairs
Trees Felled
Acres Cleared

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