On Tuesday, January 7th, people in Los Angeles County, California began receiving a high wind advisory and risk of fire notice. Come nightfall, heavy winds were underway and several fires had broken out, engulfing the city of LA in the worst disaster the city’s history. The fires became so intense that the freeways were lined up with abandoned cars stretched out for miles after people left their vehicles to flee. The city ordered mass evacuations, and thousands of Californians were displaced from their homes within hours.
Almost immediately, hundreds of individuals began to coordinate a massive city-wide mutual aid effort. People began circulating evacuation information, gathering food, water, toiletries, personal protection equipment, medications, bedding, and other essentials. The mutual aid networks stepping forward during this crisis include medics and therapists offering medical assistance and mental health care to people displaced by the fires. Individual community members have also been taking similar initiatives to support their communities. On Friday January 10th, a local man from Altadena set up an impromptu supply distribution center at a closed gas station, which he kept open despite implementation of a curfew and the deployment of the National Guard.
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