Fire-Related Mutual Aid Efforts to Support and Some Must-Reads

Greetings friends,

At least five people have been killed, and thousands of homes have been destroyed by a series of wildfires in LA this week. Many of us have been watching the news and checking on friends and loved ones as windstorms have carried fields of flames across multiple communities. I know many of you want to do whatever you can to help right now, so I wanted to uplift some resources.

(Yes, I am away this week, but this felt important.)

Some Resources to Uplift and Opportunities to Donate

• Mutual Aid LA Network is maintaining a spreadsheet of resources for people affected by the fires. The list is being updated continuously with new resources and calls for volunteers and donations. Please consider uplifting this resource on social media. (And if your faith in humanity needs a boost, be sure to have a look at the spreadsheet and appreciate all of the ways people in LA are supporting each other right now.) You can donate to MALAN here. 
• Multiple animal shelters are providing free temporary boarding services for people in evacuation zones who cannot evacuate with their pets. At Pasadena Humane, evacuees lined up around the block to drop off beloved pets. The facility is sheltering hundreds of animals displaced by the fires, including some in critical condition due to burns and other injuries. Pasadena Humane needs foster homes and donations to help accommodate these animals. Given that some people simply won’t evacuate without their pets, this kind of care work has the potential to save human lives as well. I was grateful for the opportunity to support their work.
• If you want to support unhoused people affected by the fires, some longtime, trusted volunteers could use donations to support their efforts. You can get a glimpse of the work they do here.
• This wildfire evacuation safety guide provides essential information about pre-evacuation steps, handling power outages, evacuation methods, animal safety, and what to do if trapped.

If You’re Thinking About Preparedness

If this disaster has you thinking preparedness in your own life and community, I recommend checking out this Community Resource Mapping guide and this resource on podmapping. 

Do not wait for catastrophe to strike. Map and strengthen your solidarity networks now. If you find these activities challenging, don’t be discouraged. Some people get frustrated or upset while podmapping, because they realize they don’t have a wide circle of trust and support. These feelings are understandable and more common than you would expect in our siloed, alienated society. Recognize these emotions as a call to reach out, get to know your neighbors, join community groups, and build bonds of fellowship. We can only survive together, so let’s figure out what together means to us, and seize upon opportunities to connect.

I also recommend Dean Spade’s book Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) and this piece about go bags by Margaret Killjoy. My book with Mariame Kaba, Let This Radicalize You, may also be helpful.

Remember Incarcerated People

While these fires drive people from their homes, I am also thinking about incarcerated people, who are rarely evacuated during disasters. Imprisoned people will not be offered air filters or masks to cope with the toxic smoke wafting through affected areas, and in California, around 1,800 of the people who are fighting these infernos are incarcerated workers. That number used to be somewhere over 4,000, but COVID-related decarceration efforts and facility closures have brought the number down in recent years. Authorities, however, hope to bring the number of imprisoned firefighters back up, and may be positioned to do so, after voters rejected a measure to end forced labor in California prisons last year. Some of California’s incarcerated firefighters are teenagers.

Fifteen of California's 20 most destructive wildfires have occurred within the past decade, while the state saves approximately $100 million annually by relying on captive labor to fight these fires. You can hear from some of those incarcerated workers here.

Must-Reads

From wildfire conspiracies to the third spaces we can’t handle, here are some of the most important articles I’ve read this week.

• Third Space? You Can't Handle a Third Space by Anna Pompilio. “It’s clear that we’ve become accustomed to a digital-world tailored specifically to us. Our likes, our dislikes, our values, even our aesthetics. Our right, our wrong. And with in-person social skills diminishing, it’s easy to say that we’ve moved there. Digital-World is World.”
• The Growing Push to Ban Renewable Energy in Oklahoma by Jael Holzman. “There’s a nascent, concerted effort to make Oklahoma the first state to ban new renewable energy projects. And it’s picking up steam.”
• The California Wildfires Just Revealed This Very Grim Truth by Nitish Pahwa. “Here’s the real, ugly truth: This is just how every major climate disaster is going to unfold online from here on out. There will be criticisms and expressions of fury, some more fair and reasoned than others. But in an ecosystem where social media outlets have purposefully hobbled their ability to provide real-time, reliable updates to users, the people affected by those disasters are literally left in the dark.”
• Watching the L.A. Fires Close In by Miles Klee. “Late on Tuesday, when not fielding an avalanche of concerned texts from those far away and unsure of California geography, I was offering my guest room to friends who had already been evacuated, my outlets to the ones who had lost electricity, streaming news coverage on KTLA, refreshing the Los Angeles Times and social media.”
• Meta Now Lets Users Say Gay and Trans People Have ‘Mental Illness’ by Kate Knibbs. “In an accompanying video, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the company’s current rules in these areas as ‘just out of touch with mainstream discourse.’”
• Israel Killed 74 Children in Gaza in First Week of 2025 by Sharon Zhang. “Meanwhile, children and babies are dying due to Israel’s catastrophic humanitarian aid blockade, which has created famine conditions across the strip and, in recent weeks, has caused children to freeze to death.”
• The Democrats’ Shameful, Immediate Surrender to Trump by Ross Rosenfeld. “On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed the Laken Riley Act, which would allow Homeland Security to detain and deport undocumented immigrants who have merely been charged—not convicted—of minor, nonviolent crimes. If the bill also prevails in the Senate, where it is expected to advance later this week, Donald Trump would sign it immediately upon taking office—at which point we could see people deported without due process, simply because a cop alleges that they stole, say, a tube of toothpaste from CVS.” 

What’s Useful Right Now

Catastrophic events provoke strong emotions, even when we and our loved ones are not in harm's way. We feel empathy for those suffering, including disabled people, unhoused people, and others who might be left behind in a crisis. We mourn the loss of ecosystems and wildlife, and we may worry about people’s pets. We might second guess the decisions of people on the ground, as we imagine what we would do in their place, and anxiously hope that people will create as much safety for themselves and others as possible. We may feel justified rage and frustration about climate chaos, the violence of capitalism, and policies that prioritize profits and property over life itself. We may also be tempted to make jokes to offset the dread we feel. Amid this swirl of emotions and impulses, we aren’t always our best selves. 

Over the last couple of days, I have seen some people on social media show up poorly, with bad takes, inaccurate information, misplaced judgment, and other reactions that are simply unhelpful. If you are overwhelmed by what’s happening, and you don’t know what to do with yourself, consider taking a break from the constant barrage of information. If the onslaught of bad news is causing you to flail and spiral, you are doing a disservice to yourself and others by continuing to absorb it. Take a beat. Hug someone you love. Play with your pets. Have a snack. Then, when you’re ready, focus on being constructive.

If you were fleeing your home or faced with that prospect, as toxic smoke billowed across your city, what kind of messages would you want strangers to circulate online? I can’t know for sure, as I have never been in that position. However, it seems to me that accurate, well-vetted information, along with posts about how people can help, well wishes, praise for people who are doing the work of collective survival, and other expressions of care and kindness are what’s most useful right now. Kindness is essential in these times, and it will continue to be.

Criticism is also important, as many institutions, leaders and policies are deserving of criticism (if not outright condemnation), but please make sure your information is accurate. Our enemies are trying to drag us into a post-truth era. Honest narratives and critical thinking are essential in these times. Be a trusted voice. Double check information. Subscribe to trusted news sources and share what you learn. Be discerning and practice patience when spreading the word about important matters. 

Above all, I urge you to build community in this moment. None of us are going to escape the impacts of climate change, and with Trump taking power soon, we are all faced with an unpredictable era of political precarity. Our relationships with our neighbors, our mutual aid groups, our book clubs, our membership organizations, and other social formations will create webs of care and survival when disaster strikes–which is exactly what’s happening in LA. If you feel the urge to do something, empower yourself to do something in the company of others when your community is in trouble. As Mariame and I wrote in Let This Radicalize You:

We do not need heroes. We need people who are committed to one another’s survival, who are willing to act on the basis of that commitment. Unfortunately, we are living in an era where refusing to abandon people can be a revolutionary act. It could also be the key to our collective survival.

Back to My Break

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. Next week, I will be on vacation. For real this time. I swear you won’t hear a peep out of me. For now, I am sending love and solidarity to everyone who is in the path of danger, everyone who is hurting, and everyone who feels frightened or discouraged in these times. You are not alone, and while I cannot promise that the tumult will relent, I know we will continue to find strength in each other. Right here, on the edge of everything, we are still each other’s best hope. Please remember that, and take care of each other.

Onward.

Much love, 

Kelly

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