California Wildfire Relief

February 2021 – January 2026

All Hands and Hearts (AHAH) has been supporting wildfire-affected communities in California since early 2021, with previous programs in Butte County. Our current focus in Los Angeles County represents the latest phase of this ongoing commitment: an 12-month recovery effort responding to one of the most destructive wildfires in the state’s history. Our efforts are currently focused on smoke remediation for impacted homes, supporting local partners in donation distribution and building community capacity through training and collaboration. By working alongside trusted local organizations, we aim to ensure a coordinated, community-led recovery that lasts well beyond our time on the ground.

Find the details about volunteering on this program here.

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Current Activities

In May, we expanded our smoke remediation pilot, launched in partnership with Fire Poppy Project, to help families return to homes free from toxic smoke and ash. Over 30 individuals have already returned home, and demand continues to grow. We’re now scaling efforts as part of the Operation Bunny Suits Collective, a coalition including Pasadena Tenants Union, NDLON, CORE, Mutual Aid Los Angeles Network and AHAH. Our AHAH-led teams are fully equipped, trained and actively responding.

In collaboration with NDLON, YMCA, CORE, Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) and 24LA, we’ve also supported nearly 18,000 people with food, clothing and essential goods. Volunteer support continues at GEM and 24LA warehouses, and we helped reopen the Fire Relief Donation Center in Culver City, welcoming more than 200 survivors and coordinating over two truckloads of donations from CBS Studios. While many organizations have scaled back, AHAH remains committed to evolving recovery needs and standing with LA’s most affected communities.

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

MITIGATION AND RECOVERY: BERRY CREEK & BUTTE COUNTY, FEBRUARY 2023 - MAY 2023

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.

MITIGATION & RECOVERY: BERRY CREEK & BUTTE COUNTY, FEBRUARY 2022 - JULY 2022

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.

RECOVERY: BUTTE COUNTY, AUGUST 2021 - DECEMBER 2021

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.

MITIGATION: PARADISE, FEBRUARY 2021 - JULY 2021

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