Southern California is grappling with an unprecedented wildfire crisis, with at least 10 killed and thousands forced to evacuate as multiple fires ravage Los Angeles. Fuelled by forceful Santa Ana winds and a prolonged drought, the fires have created an environmental catastrophe on a significant scale.

Among the infernos, the Palisades Fire has been the most devastating in LA’s history, destroying hundreds of homes and other structures. The damage has been so severe that municipal water supplies have been depleted in some areas. By Thursday morning (January 9), the Palisades Fire had burned through 17,234 acres, while the nearby Eaton Fire had scorched 10,600 acres. Five fires continue to burn across the region, placing immense strain on firefighters as conditions are expected to worsen in the coming days.

These fires are a clear reflection of the climate crisis. The combination of factors such as drought, high winds and unseasonal weather is overwhelming response capabilities and creating disasters on an unprecedented scale. A recent study published in Nature Reviews: Earth and Environment highlights growing evidence that a warming climate has significantly altered the background conditions driving wildfires like those currently ravaging LA.

A debate has risen over whether the devastation in LA warrants broader concern, particularly as the Palisades Fire tears through neighbourhoods inhabited by the rich and famous. Celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Billy Crystal and Adam Brody are reported to have lost their homes. However, as Dalia Gebrial explained in a video for Novara Media, two truths can coexist. The class dynamics of climate breakdown mean the wealthy are more likely to recover, rebuilding their homes and lives easily. In contrast, the less fortunate and marginalised groups – particularly people of colour, disabled people, the unhoused, the incarcerated and those living in poverty – will bear the brunt of the destruction. These communities face disproportionate harm and fewer resources to recover, making them the most vulnerable to such crises. It's also worth noting that nearly 1,000 incarcerated men and women are being paid a deplorable wage of between $5.80 and $10.24 to fight the wildfires in LA, putting their bodies and health at risk whilst being exploited by the state.

As a state of emergency is declared and thousands are displaced, here’s how you can support the most marginalised victims of the LA wildfires and educate yourself on how the climate crisis affects us all.

DONATE

There are a number of places, people and organisations you can donate to during this time. The California Fire Fund provides critical support to surviving families of fallen firefighters, firefighters and the communities they serve. Your donation will help commemorate firefighters who died on the job, offer scholarships to children of fallen firefighters, provide aid to victims of fires or other climate disasters, and provide fire safety resources to marginalised communities across California. The Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation is also seeking donations to provide firefighters with emergency fire shelters, hydration backpacks and wildland brush tools needed to combat wildfires.

You can also donate to the World Central Kitchen, which is working with restaurant and food truck partners to provide comforting meals across the region; the American Red Cross, which is providing shelter, food and medical care; LA Homeless Services, which is offering aid to unhoused people, who are among the most vulnerable during this time; and Junior High LA, a community art gallery and event space in Glendale that is providing free meals, water and other resources to those displaced. They are accepting donations of masks, snacks, and sanitary and menstrual products. The Pasadena Humane Society is urgently seeking donations for animals displaced by the wildfires. The shelter needs food, water bowls and blankets to care for over 100 animals currently in emergency boarding. Mutual Aid LA Network has compiled an extensive list of organisations offering assistance and accepting donations.

There are also many GoFundMe fundraisers you can contribute to in order to help people rebuild their homes and lives.

VOLUNTEER

All we have is each other – so if you’re able to volunteer, you should. The N.O.A.H.’s Foundation, a nonprofit organisation that aims to secure shelter for low-income and homeless people, especially single parents and children, is looking for volunteers to help sort donations to support families in need. They are also seeking donations of food, blankets, sleeping bags, pillows, towels, soap, toothbrushes, hygiene items, women’s menstrual products, water and financial support as they arrange accommodation for the displaced. You can also become a Red Cross volunteer. Their most needed roles are related to blood donations, shelters and disaster relief.

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank is accepting food donations and volunteers to support unhoused people and those displaced by the fires.

EDUCATE YOURSELF 

The climate crisis is with us here and now. It is not something we can ignore, nor should we ignore simply because we think it’s happening in other countries and not our own. Some good books to read on the climate crisis include: Burnt: Fighting for Climate Justice by Chris Saltmarsh, How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm and It’s Not That Radical: Climate Action to Transform Our World by Mikaela Loach.

JOIN THE FIGHT FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE 

The time to act is now, and there’s no better way to do so than by joining a climate activist group. Extinction Rebellion does incredibly important work in the UK, raising awareness that not only is the planet dying, but we are dying alongside it. In the US, you can join the Sunrise Movement, a group of young people fighting to stop the climate crisis and win a Green New Deal. There is also Third Act, a community of Americans over sixty determined to ensure a safe and inhabitable world for future generations. Each of these groups understands the dire situation facing our planet.