California Fires: Southern California

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As you may know, California continues to experience a devastating wave of wildfires. The most recent fire outbreaks have been in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, and are spreading to other nearby counties. The fires have destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres of natural areas as well as homes and businesses. Thousands have already been evacuated and thousands more are expected to be evacuated in the coming days, as the fires move into densely populated areas. Firefighters have warned of extreme fire risk, with high winds and dry conditions prevalent across the region. The smoke has temporarily closed Highway 101, a major freeway in the area, and several schools and businesses have closed due to smoke and fire risk.

As a mental health provider with program locations in these areas, we are acutely and sorrowfully aware of how our employees, the people we serve, and these communities are being affected by the fires. We have made a donation to the Red Cross on behalf of everyone at Telecare Corporation to help with general disaster relief.

Important to Know:

  • We have heard reports that Lyft is offering free rides up to $40 for evacuees to evacuation centers in LA County who used the promo code "LASAFERIDES." You may wish to confirm this in your area. 

Fire Evacuation information:

  • Los Angeles County closures, evacuation map and alerts: (Link)
  • Ventura County evacuation and fire alerts: (Link)
  • Santa Barbara County evacuation and fire alerts: (Link)
  • San Diego County evacuation and fire alerts: (Link)

 How You Can Help:

Donate Money: 
(Ventura County) Thomas Fire Fund: The United Way of Ventura County, American Red Cross of Ventura County and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services have teamed up to create the Thomas Fire Fund.

(Los Angeles): Red Cross LA

  • Cash donations to the Los Angeles Area Red Cross can be made here: (Link)

YouCaring

  • YouCaring, an online crowd-funding platform, has created a landing page with all of its campaigns for Southern California wildfire relief.

Humane Society of Ventura County

LA County Animal Care Foundation

Donate Time: American Red Cross/Other Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers of all kinds are encouraged to register with the Red Cross.  Licensed clinical mental health workers are especially needed to provide support in the communities affected. 
To find out how to help, call: 707- 577-7600 or go to the Red Cross Volunteer page to sign up to volunteer.