Children’s Disaster Services fields large response to Los Angeles fires

By Carolyn Neher and Michael Scalzi

In January, Children’s Disaster Services (CDS) sent four volunteer teams to care for children in the Los Angeles area in response to the wildfires that engulfed the city and surrounding area.

Three teams were partnered with the Red Cross for two weeks, serving in the shelters and resource assistance centers for the wildfire survivors.

One team was made up of CDS volunteers living locally in California. California VOAD (Volunteer Organizations Assisting in Disaster) and Church World Service (CWS) asked CDS to serve for a week at a Wildfire Resource HUB in Pasadena.

As of Feb. 5, 25 volunteers served 412 children. During the response, CDS associate director Carolyn Neher visited with each team, helping to coordinate the response. During the response, CDS volunteers gave their time supporting young children and their families recovering from the wildfires.

The last team of CDS volunteers still serving in the L.A. area are scheduled to return home on Feb. 12.

Two wildfires started on Jan. 7: the Palisades fire in the Santa Monica mountains of Los Angeles County and the Eaton fire in Altadena. The Palisades fire destroyed most of Pacific Palisades, Topanga, and Malibu cities. Over 200,000 people were forced to evacuate. The fires were driven by Santa Ana winds of hurricane strength—80 to 100 miles per hour—killing 29 people and destroying or damaging 16,000 structures. The Palisades and Eaton fires were fully contained after 24 days on Jan. 31.