How can nonprofits help when they’re under fire? – Nonprofit News

The ongoing fires in Los Angeles County are creating a unique, yet deadly and destructive disaster. This is an urban wildfire.

When we think of wildfires, we may think of tearing through dense forests, but California’s deadly fires, which started on January 7, 2025, are burning in densely populated urban areas. Fueled by unseasonably strong winds, multiple fires, including the Palisades Fire west of Los Angeles, the Eaton Fire north of Pasadena, and the Sunset Fire in the Hollywood Hills, have blazed through highly flammable brush ecosystems and destroyed thousands of homes and buildings. is being burnt out.

At least 10 people have died, and the death toll is expected to rise. According to NPR, hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated and more than 35,000 acres were destroyed. Massive fires in the Palisades and Eaton were at the forefront of the destruction, the report said.

This is especially relevant given the growing awareness of the strain that technologies like ChatGPT place on the world’s water supplies.

More than 10,000 structures were destroyed in the fire, including homes, historic buildings, places of worship, established restaurants, theaters and other performance venues. A fire in such a densely populated area means hundreds of community buildings have been destroyed, including schools, parks, libraries, and nonprofit organizations. How can these organizations help when their staff is displaced and their homes and operations are threatened? How can nonprofits serve their communities when their own nonprofits are on fire? ?

Lookout duty

The Santa Rosa, California-based Sherwood Forest Service and its Watch Duty app are the nonprofit organization many Los Angeles residents rely on for accurate on-the-ground information and alerts.

The app is the nonprofit’s first major initiative and is taking off, gaining 1.4 million new users since the first fire. By the day after the fire, Watch Duty had “overtaken ChatGPT as the top free app on Apple’s App Store,” according to The San Francisco Standard.

This is especially relevant given the growing awareness of the strain that technologies like ChatGPT place on the world’s water supplies. It takes a lot of water to cool the servers that run AI chatbots. As the fire drained multiple hydrants, some people took to social media to try to connect the two.

AI water and power use, as well as e-waste, are certainly contributing to exacerbating climate change, but in the case of Los Angeles, aging infrastructure and limited water systems are struggling to keep up with the unprecedented strain. I couldn’t do it. National Geographic wrote that “the city’s water system was not built with fires of this magnitude in mind.”

On the same day that the Los Angeles fires broke out, Meta announced it was ending third-party fact-checking…with potentially dire consequences in the face of disaster.

Released several years ago, Watch Duty is free to download and provides users with wildfire maps and real-time alerts. The app monitors air quality, wind direction, and uses satellite imagery to track the progress of fires and firefighting operations. You can check evacuation information for people and pets as well as the latest evacuation instructions.

The app also tracks prescribed burns, so users can “know if smoke visible in the distance is a fire to worry about,” as the app’s website says. In an emergency, users can share photos to update “first responders and loved ones” on the situation and risks, and help the wider world understand the urgency of the fire.

stop the spread

This is the last part where people can be helped, no matter how close they are to the epicenter of the fire. As the severity and frequency of climate disasters increases around the world, so does the prevalence of misinformation about them.

On the same day the Los Angeles fires broke out, Meta announced it was ending third-party fact-checking, a decision that could have dire consequences for the disaster response. Misinformation already circulating online about the Los Angeles wildfires, and misinformation that is intentionally and intentionally false, includes claims that the fires were “planned” and a deliberate “attack” rather than a climate disaster. It contains the content that there is. Mother Jones writes: “This has two purposes: to question established climate change science, and to find more politically useful targets for identifying disasters.”

“The distinction between disinformation and disinformation is based on the political intentions of those sharing false content, but both cause significant harm,” NPQ said in a 2022 article.

Even well-intentioned people can spread inaccurate information by posting hastily (for example, misinformation about which shelters are open or accepting pets). People can stop the spread of misinformation by posting vetted sources with verified information. We also ensure that the information is always up to date, as information can change quickly, as is the case with the climate emergency.

The same applies to donations. This is where nonprofits like Charity Navigator and GuideStar can help. To provide contact and reputation information for support groups, nonprofits, and charities, as well as easy ways to donate to them.

think about your neighbors

While there continues to be a need for local action on climate change, especially as the country approaches a second Trump administration with environmentally hostile policies, the scale of the Los Angeles fires is challenging given the staggering amount of aid available. It will be necessary. Economic losses in Los Angeles are expected to be at least $50 billion, making the fire one of the costliest disasters in U.S. history.

Communities seeking more immediate assistance are turning to mutual aid efforts such as the Mutual Aid LA Network (MALAN). MALAN has published a Google document listing many organizations and resources available to assist affected community members.

The recovery is expected to be extended and continue. Donations are needed now and will be needed for a long time to come, but this disaster, like Hurricane Helen’s Appalachian flooding before it, could be replaced by the next wave of climate change. there is. Our definition of helping may need to change from a one-time event to a lifelong practice.

Our definition of neighbor may also need to change. Because no matter how far we are from California, that loss hurts us all. And because right now, no one is far from climate disaster. Every person, every institution, and organization can be destroyed in a single day by a wind blowing, and facing that fact requires both global action and personal change.

The New York Times wrote: “Los Angeles is burning right now. The fires are growing and the winds are still blowing. We don’t know where it’s going to be next.”

For more information on this topic, see:

Appalachian nonprofits supporting Helen

Combating disinformation and misinformation: The fight for democracy and racial justice