Los Angeles Fires: Response Update

Nearly 92,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation orders, with an additional 89,000 residents under evacuation warnings, as three major wildfires - Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst - continue to rage across LA County. Though significant progress has been made in recent days to contain and suppress the L.A. wildfires and initiate search and rescue efforts, crews are presently facing another round of dangerous Santa Ana winds prompting the National Weather Service to issue a Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning for much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

The warning, which took effect at 4 a.m. on January 14 and extended until noon on January 15, was intended to alert officials and the public of an extreme wildfire risk. In fact, as of 3 p.m. on January 14, the strong winds had ignited two new brush fires - the Auto and Scout fires - in Ventura and Riverside counties, respectively, prompting a new set of evacuations in Riverside.

As of January 14, officials had confirmed 24 deaths as well as the damage or destruction of more than 12,300 homes, businesses, and other structures, including entire streets in Altadena, Malibu, and Pacific Palisades, resulting from the Eaton and Palisades fires. Additionally, residents across L.A. continue to experience air quality alerts and power outages, while several communities, including in Altadena, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, and Pasadena, among others, remain under unsafe water alerts and water boil advisories.

In addition, the wildfires and resulting power outages have had significant impacts on healthcare services, prompting several healthcare networks, including Adventist Health, Cedars-Sinai, Kaiser Permanente, Keck Medicine of USC, Providence Health and Services, and UCLA Health, as well as at least nine community health centers, among others, to temporarily close clinics and postpone elective procedures. Meanwhile, several healthcare facilities report difficulties maintaining adequate staffing levels amid widespread evacuations and personal losses.

To minimize disruptions to care and ensure the safety of patients and staff, several facilities are expanding access to telehealth services. Additionally, the L.A. County Department of Public Health is establishing Medication Access Assistance Service Centers staffed with nurses, paramedics, and a physician at each of the FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers located at UCLA Research Park West and the Pasadena City College Community Education Center; the service centers are intended to assist affected community members with accessing essential medications lost during the fires, obtaining referrals for clinical health concerns, and other health-related matters.

Direct Relief's Response to the Los Angeles Wildfires

In response to the unprecedented wildfires raging across LA County, Direct Relief has made available more than $100 million in medicines and medical supplies, including 2.3 million N95 respirators, to community health centers, free and charitable clinics, and other healthcare partners in affected areas. Direct Relief has also deployed multiple emergency response teams to deliver critically needed relief items, including N95 respirators, personal care products for evacuees, prescription medications, field medic packs for first responders, and other supplies, to several community health centers, evacuation shelters, government agencies, relief distribution hubs, and retail locations throughout L.A.; additional deliveries of specifically requested aid are being shipped from Direct Relief's Santa Barbara warehouse directly to health facility partners.

Cumulatively, between January 8 and 13, Direct Relief emergency response teams delivered an estimated 46,000 N95 respirators, 675 personal care kits for evacuees including soap and shampoo, 170 kits of protective gear for those returning to fire-damaged properties, 100 P100 respirators,14 field medic packs for triage care, an emergency health kit filled with essential medicines, and a wildfire response kit which included medications commonly requested during fire events, among other items, to more than 20 locations in support of wildfire-affected communities. Direct Relief had also shipped approximately $50,000 in specifically requested medical aid - including N95 respirators, solar chargers, personal care items for evacuees, field medic packs with medical essentials for first responders, and essential medications and supplies for people experiencing wildfires - to six community health centers, as well as one nonprofit organization, Vision y Compromiso, which provides ongoing capacity building, training, and support to more than 4,000 health promoters and community health workers.

Direct Relief continues to coordinate closely with local and state agencies and health associations, including the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, or Cal OES, the California Primary Care Association, the California Association of Free & Charitable Clinics, the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County, the Health Center Partners of Southern California, and the Mobile Health Care Association, as well as the California Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters coalition and Direct Relief's expansive partner network of community health centers, free and charitable clinics, and other safety net providers in the impacted areas. These coordination efforts are critical to understanding the evolving needs of wildfire-affected communities and ensuring that urgently needed medical aid reaches those in need.

A complete list of community health centers and other organizations supported with deliveries of medicines and/or medical supplies between January 8 and 13 is featured in the list below:

AltaMed Health Services
Anderson Munger Family YMCA
Arroyo Vista Family Health Center
Cal OES
City of Beverly Hills Fire Department
Gracelight Community Health
Koreatown YMCA Center for Community Well-being
LA County Public Health Department
LA County Sheriff's Department
Montebello Family Health Center
Pan Pacific Recreation Center
Pasadena Convention Center
South Central Family Health Center
The Children's Clinic Family Health Center
Universal Community Health Center
Venice Family Clinic in Santa Monica
Via Care Community Health Center
Vision y Compromiso
Westwood Recreation Center
Various Gap, Inc., locations across the L.A. Area

Health Impacts of Wildfires

Wildfires represent an increasingly serious threat to the health and well-being of communities. As climate change and urban expansion contribute to the growing frequency, duration, and severity of wildfires, communities are increasingly impacted by the health risks associated with smoke inhalation, contaminated water supplies, disrupted access to essential services, and displacement.

Exposure to wildfire emissions can cause acute physical irritations and exacerbate symptoms of respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and heart disease. Some populations, such as children, pregnant women, older adults, and those with chronic health conditions, experience greater risks of adverse health outcomes from wildfires and may be especially impacted by limited or disrupted access to health services and essential medicines.

Wildfires can also take a significant toll on mental health, with exposure to smoke, evacuations, and the loss of homes and livelihoods inflicting major disruptions to people's lives and contributing to increased stress, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress.

Further, wildfires often cause power outages, disrupting access to critical health services and putting those reliant on electrically powered medical devices and medicines requiring refrigeration at heightened risk while increased patient volumes during and after wildfires can strain local healthcare systems. The impact of these power outages and pressures on local health resources often exacerbate health inequities, particularly among communities that experience chronic shortages of primary care.

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