Critical fire conditions continue as Santa Ana winds return
As Californians cope with the trauma and massive destruction of the wildfires, more than 350 American Red Cross workers are helping to ensure no one faces this heartbreaking time alone. We’re coordinating closely with our partners to provide food, shelter, emotional support and other critical services.
The threat isn’t over with dangerous fire weather conditions forecast for this week. People should remain vigilant, be prepared to evacuate and follow instructions from local officials. The Palisades and Eaton fires are among the top five most destructive in California’s history, destroying about 12,000 structures according to preliminary CalFire assessments.
RED CROSS RESPONSE Nearly 900 evacuees woke up Monday morning in Red Cross shelters, many of whom are struggling after losing everything.
Red Crossers from across the country are helping and truckloads of supplies like cots, blankets, water and relief items are available to support thousands of additional people if needed. Some of these volunteers are from the region and have also been impacted by these wildfires.
In shelters, disaster health volunteers are caring for minor injuries and replacing things like eyeglasses and medications. Disaster mental health workers are providing emotional support to those experiencing unimaginable loss.
EVERYONE WELCOME IN OUR SHELTERS Red Cross shelters are a safe place for everyone. We don’t ask for identification, and you don’t have to stay overnight to get help. Find shelter locations on redcross.orgthe free Red Cross Emergency app or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767).
The shelters are open to everyone in need, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability or citizenship status. All disaster assistance is free. If possible, we encourage people who plan to stay in a shelter to bring prescription medications, extra clothing, pillows, blankets, hygiene supplies, other comfort items and important documents.
We do everything we can to accommodate service animals and pets comfortably in our shelters. Sometimes, pets may need to be housed in a different location with support from local partners.
WHERE TO GET HELP
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Some people are trying to find loved ones, and the Red Cross has received nearly 400 requests for help. If you need assistance locating a missing loved one because of the fires, we may be able to help. Visit redcross.org/findfamily or reach us at 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). Please provide as much detail as possible to assist us in potentially locating your missing loved one.
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The Red Cross is providing assistance to help immediate family members travel to California after a death or the hospitalization of a loved one. If you need help, please call 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) to be connected with the Family Travel Assistance Team. For this program, the Red Cross considers an immediate family member to be a parent, spouse, domestic partner, child, sibling, grandparent or direct in-law.
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If you or a loved one needs help, reach out to the free 24/7 multilingual Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 for support.
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If you’ve been impacted by the recent fires, you may be eligible for government assistance. Apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov or call the FEMA helpline at 1-800-621-3362.
USEFUL LINKS:
HOW YOU CAN HELP People are depending on the Red Cross for aid now and we need your support. Help people affected by the 2025 California Wildfires by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS (800-733-2767) or texting the word CAWILDFIRES to 90999 to make a donation. Your gift enables the Red Cross to prepare for, respond to and help people recover from these disasters.
As the wildfires continue to burn and impact air quality, the number of Red Cross blood drive cancelations have grown impacting hundreds of lifesaving blood donations. To help ensure donor and staff safety, we’ve brought in air scrubbers and have N-95 masks available at our facilities. Where it is safe to do so, we encourage people to schedule a blood donation appointment by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
It’s important to remember that people from all socioeconomic backgrounds are impacted by these destructive fires. This is especially true for people with limited resources who usually experience a heavier toll after disasters.
The climate crisis has been a key driver in increasing the risk of wildfires in the western U.S. during the last two decades. With more frequent and intense disasters upending lives, the Red Cross is providing food, shelter and recovery support on a nearly continual basis to support people in need.
Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) Through the generosity of our American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program (ADGP) and Disaster Responder members, the American Red Cross is prepared before disaster strikes. ADGP and Disaster Responder members help secure a reliable funding base for disaster relief services that enables the Red Cross to respond immediately, meeting the needs of individuals and families affected by
Mission Leader Members: Amazon; American Airlines; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints; Costco Wholesale; State Farm; Truist Foundation
ADGP $1M Members: Anheuser-Busch Foundation; Bank of America; Caterpillar Foundation; Chobani; CMA CGM Foundation; Delta Air Lines; Elevance Health Foundation; Enterprise Mobility Foundation; FedEx; Lilly Endowment Inc.; Lowe’s Companies, Inc.; McDonald’s Corporation; Merck; Microsoft; Nationwide Foundation; The Pfizer Foundation; The Starbucks Foundation; Takeda; VSP Vision; Walmart and the Walmart Foundation; Wells Fargo
ADGP $500k Members: ALDI; Altria Group; American Express; Aon; Baxter International Foundation; Boeing; Bread Financial; Capital One; Chick-fil-A; Citi Foundation; The Clorox Company; Danaher Foundation; Darden Foundation; Delta Dental; DHL Supply Chain; Edison International; Energy Transfer/Sunoco Foundation; Ford Philanthropy; Fox Corporation; GE Aerospace; General Motors; Google.org; HCA Healthcare; The Home Depot Foundation; The J.M. Smucker Company; Johnson Controls Foundation; ; The Kraft Heinz Company Foundation; The Kroger Co. Foundation; Liberty Mutual Insurance; Lockheed Martin Corporation; Mastercard; Mondelēz International Foundation; New Balance Foundation; Paul Davis Restoration; PayPal; PepsiCo Foundation; PetSmart Charities; Southeastern Grocers Gives Foundation & Southeastern Grocers, Harveys Supermarket and Winn-Dixie; Stryker; Suburban Propane; Target; The TJX Companies, Inc.; Toyota; United Airlines; UPS; USAA; U.S. Bank Foundation; Visa Foundation; The Walt Disney Company; The Wawa Foundation; Wesco; Zoetis Foundation
Disaster Responder Members: 7-Eleven Cares Foundation; Adobe Foundation; The AES Corporation; Albemarle Corporation; The Allstate Foundation; American Tire Distributors; American Water Charitable Foundation; Ameriprise Financial; Assurant; AvalonBay Communities, Inc.; Avangrid Foundation; Barclays; Bath & Body Works;; Build-A-Bear Foundation; Canadian National Railway; CarMax; CDW; Charles Schwab Foundation; Cisco and Cisco Foundation; CNA Insurance; The Coca-Cola Foundation; The Deluxe Foundation; DENSO North America Foundation; The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation; Discover; Dollar General; Dollar Tree and Family Dollar; Duke Energy; Erie Insurance; Equitable; Fifth Third Foundation; FirstEnergy Corporation; Harbor Freight Tools Foundation, LLC;; HP Foundation; International Paper; Invitation Homes; Johnson & Johnson Foundation; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kimberly-Clark Corporation; L’Oréal; The Labcorp Charitable Foundation; Lenovo ; LKQ; Macy’s, Inc.; Major League Baseball; Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Martin Marietta; Masco Corporation; McKesson Foundation; MetLife Foundation; Neiman Marcus Group; NextEra Energy, Inc.; Norfolk Southern; Northrop Grumman Foundation; Northwestern Mutual; Novartis; Old Dominion Freight Line; Pacific Life Foundation;; Prudential; Raymond James; RBC Foundation USA; Reckitt; Reliance, Inc.; Reynolds American Inc.; RTX; Ryder System, Inc.; Salesforce; Santander Bank and Santander Consumer USA Foundation Inc. ; Security Finance’s Lending Hand Foundation; ServiceNow; Southwest Airlines; Stanley Black & Decker; Stephens; Tennant Foundation; U-Haul International; Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation; US Foods; Yum! Brands; Zurich
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