John,

I moved to Washington from California decades ago. But I still have family and friends there, including many who’ve evacuated as wildfires have burned in Los Angeles in the last few days.

The photos, video and news from the climate fires can only be described with words usually reserved for the most extreme events: apocalyptic, horrific, tragic, terrifying, overwhelming. Our hearts go out to the people suffering in LA, and also to the wildlife and ecosystems that are being ravaged.

From two states and nearly 1,000 miles away, you may feel at a loss as to what to do. Working families, people of color, immigrants, disabled people, and the unhoused population will suffer disproportionately in the aftermath. Our neighbors to the south need your help. At the end of this email, we provide a list of donation links and resources that need your support.

Threads post by Queerbrownvegan.

When faced with an event like this, it’s normal to think that the pain and destruction are extraordinary and inexplicable. But that’s not exactly the case.

The fires now raging have been made worse because of human-accelerated climate change. Two intensely wet years have been followed by dry conditions. Southern California’s winter rains usually begin in late October, early November. But those rains have yet to come, making the landscape a tinder box when the annual Santa Ana winds began. This “hydroclimate whiplash” has worsened since the 1950s and could more than double as the planet warms, according to a study published in Nature yesterday.

The destruction of the fires also have been made worse because of a century of development that sought to control or ignore nature, rather than working with it: subdivisions that go right up to the edge of bone dry state and national forests, houses built in pocket canyons with just one road in and out, channelized rivers and streams, the list is long.

Today, we must focus on tending to the suffering of people and nature. When the time comes to recover and rebuild, we hope that this will provide an opportunity to consider how to protect people and nature as one. Because we are all facing this changing climate together. There is no “safe” place, no “Planet B.” Let’s band together in this crisis, and, going forward, create solutions together.

-Joy Stanford (she/her)
Political and Democracy Director, Washington Conservation Action

Donate:

GoFundMe campaigns for displaced Black folks from the LA fires in historically Black neighborhood of Altadena.
Support immigrant workers impacted by the LA fires.

Resources:

Mutual Aid LA Network has put together an extensive list of resources.

Evacuation centers

Westwood Recreation Center: 1350 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Westwood (accepts small animals)
Pasadena Convention Center: 300 E Green St., Pasadena
El Camino Real Charter High School: 5440 Valley Circle Blvd., Woodland Hills
Pierce College: 6201 Winnetka Ave., Woodland Hills (accepts large animals)

For animals/pets

Los Angeles Equestrian Center: 480 Riverside Dr., Burbank (accepts large animals)
Agoura Animal Shelter: 29525 Agoura Rd, Agoura Hills (accepts small animals)
Pasadena Humane Society is offering emergency shelter for animals, 361 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena. But they’re filling up fast and are also looking for families to foster dogs and cats from families displaced by fires. Email [email protected]
spcaLA is also taking in animals affected by the fires, 5026 W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles
Dogtopia of East Pasadena is offering three free overnight stays for pups from families displaced by fire and a 50% discount afterwards, (626) 699-8577