Shelterbox provides immediate support to L.A. evacuees
Santa Barbara-based ShelterBox USA is used to delivering aid to those in need, particularly those in third-world countries.
But after multiple fires broke out in Los Angeles County beginning on Jan. 7 and scorched thousands of homes, and left many people without shelter, the nonprofit didn’t hesitate for a second about providing a helping hand to its neighbors just two hours south of them.
“We have an obligation to help people in need and at ShelterBox, we work in the world’s most catastrophic disaster and conflict zones, and what we’re seeing unfold right now in Los Angeles County is likely the worst fire and the most costly on record in the state of California,” Kerri Murray, president of ShelterBox USA, told the Business Times.
The Palisades Fire broke out the morning of Jan. 7 and due to the Santa Ana Winds, quickly spread throughout the city and burned down thousands of homes and structures.
The Eaton Fire broke out on the night of Jan. 8 and, again due to the Santa Ana winds, quickly spread throughout and has burned down the majority of Altadena, an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions of Los Angeles County.
Paul Vercammen, the communications director for ShelterBox USA, grew up in Santa Barbara but has lived in and around the Burbank area of Los Angeles County for many years since growing up.
As a result, “I just knew I wanted to help. I couldn’t just sit on my hands. That is how we all felt at ShelterBox,” he said.
Vercammen was in charge of conducting a site survey over at the Pasadena Convention Center, where thousands of people from Alatdena without shelter evacuated after their houses burned down from the Eaton Fire.
Through that survey, Vercammen and ShelterBox concluded the most immediate needs at that time were heavy thermal blankets to help keep people warm and solar nights because people could just not see.
ShelterBox also provided hundreds of activity kits for the many children who were evacuated with their families and were without any entertainment and reusable bags since many people simply had no bag to carry around items.
Vercammen was adamant that the first delivery — which did bring smiles to the face of people who did not have much to smile about at that time — would not have been possible without volunteering from his friend and fellow Santa Barbara resident Grant Dyruff, who loaded up his with the goods and drove it down to the convention center.
Another person who helped make that first delivery was one of ShelterBox USA’s long-time Ambassadors, Rene Amy.
Amy’s house in Altadena was among one of the homes destroyed by the Eaton fire, leaving nothing but ash.
That didn’t stop him from stepping up and helping to deliver the necessary materials for people in need.
“I would never in a million years have expected to be a disaster victim, but now I am,” said Amy,
“I now know what the worst day in one’s life can actually be like. The best thing about all this is seeing people come together and help each other.”
It has been nearly a week since the start of the fires, but there is still a lot of work to be done.
Since then, ShelterBox has delivered another batch of supplies, this mostly containing more lights, blankers and hygiene kits.
Murray said that she has already put in urgent requests for additional solar lights as potentially rolling blackouts could continue being a problem going forward as well as more hygiene kits for people, which is among the top-requested supplies.
“Everyone knows what it feels like in Santa Barbara to evacuate and then we also know what it feels like to have people we love lose homes and lose loved ones in the fire and obviously the debris flow. And here at ShelterBox, we want to be in touch with what the immediate needs of those people are and how we can help,” she said.
Murray said that while it is important to map out immediate support, ShelterBox is also working with partners to help people in the mid and long term as a lot of these people need to find entirely new places to live.
As a result, ShelterBox is looking to provide cash grants for people to look for housing in collaboration with their Rotary partner.
Rotary is a global network of more than 1.2 million people who look to provide aid to areas, especially following disasters.
Murray also noted the importance of those looking to donate to not overlook local grassroots nonprofits that are looking to provide support not just today but well into the future, however long it takes for people to recover.
“I would encourage folks to look for small organizations that are doing really good work in their communities and that are going to be there when the headlines fade for the long haul,” she said.
As of press time here is an update on the two largest and deadliest fires burning Los Angeles County:
• The Palisades Fire was 19% contained as of 7:20 a.m. It has burned 23,713 acres with officials confirming that 1,280 structures have been destroyed with another 204 damaged. Nine people are confirmed dead from the fire.
• The Eaton Fire was 45% contained as of 7:20 a.m. It has burned 14,117 acres with officials confirming that 4,627 structures have been destroyed with another 486 damaged. Sixteen people are confirmed dead from the fire.
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