Photo: Alan Devall/Reuters.
A drone view shows volunteers with people affected by the Palisades wildfires, at a donation center in Arcadia, California, Jan. 12, 2025.
If you ever feel like your world is run by people without hearts, do what Mister Rogers’ mother advised when he was a little boy: “Look for the helpers.” As long as there are a few willing helpers, all things are possible.
Consider the volunteers in the recent California wildfires. At the Christian Science Monitor, Ali Martin wrote in January about people stepping up, even those whose lives had also been damaged.
The story started with a family’s pet goat. “Coco the goat is nestled in a soft bed between two cars in the parking lot of El Camino Real Charter High School on the western edge of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. Other wildfire evacuation shelters wouldn’t allow the 10-year-old house goat to stay with her family – the animal shelters board pets on their own, in kennels – but breaking up wasn’t an option for her owner, Maji Anir. …
“She is quietly out of the way, is no bother, and offers a drop of levity in a sea of stress – most people who take notice stop to pet her, spirits lifted. Workers are letting her stay.
“Mr. Anir and his family had just two hours to evacuate as the fire approached their home in Malibu – not enough time to get everything they needed. They pulled away Tuesday evening as the sun was setting. By morning the house was gone, along with all of their neighbors’. …
“Even in this besieged region, ruin is bending toward resilience. And from the staff to random visitors and those sheltering, a common theme is kindness. …
“El Camino is a well-appointed charter school. … Classes for the school’s 3,500 students were scheduled to start back up in mid-January. Now, with the Palisades Fire burning out of control on the other side of a mountain ridge, the campus is a gathering place for those needing refuge – and the people volunteering to help.
“Kate Delos Reyes was supposed to be in a residential program for mental health treatment. The program in Santa Monica was canceled as fires swept through the nearby Pacific Palisades.
“She’s seen fires before, when she worked at a rehab center in another Southern California mountain range. Remembering that stress, she drove to the evacuation center at El Camino to lend whatever help they might need. ‘Kindness is free, you know.’ …
“Eddie Včelíková is fielding a stream of texts from her friends while she scrolls through social media. She is taking in photos of her childhood home in Altadena; St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, which she attended every Sunday; her schools – all of it destroyed.
“Altadena, an unincorporated town in northern LA County, welcomed Black homebuyers in the mid-1900s, when redlining kept them out of other neighborhoods. As the area developed along the southwestern base of the San Gabriel Mountains, so did the diversity of its middle-class bedrock. Last week, the Eaton fire, which is still burning, swept through much of the small community and leveled entire blocks.
“When she saw video of the burned-out park where she played every weekend as a child, Ms. Včelíková says she broke. She found her way to the shelter. ‘I’m just out here volunteering to stay busy because it’s the only thing I think that’ll keep me from going insane.’ …
“She’s tried to get back into her old neighborhood, but National Guard troops are blocking every route – protecting vacant homes from looting. On Sunday, she attended a virtual church service hosted by St. Mark’s. The church may be gone, but its spirit is not. …
“[Soon] not even the shelter itself is safe. The Kenneth Fire has broken out in late afternoon on a ridge overlooking this edge of the San Fernando Valley. … This refuge is shutting down. Most of the evacuees are heading 20 miles east to another shelter at the Westwood Recreation Center.
“Leslie and Megan Walsh are making space in their packed trunk for a small suitcase. They’ve just met a young woman who needs a ride to Westwood, and they’ve offered to take her.
“They’re from San Diego; they know what LA is going through. In 2003, fires swept through parts of their city, and they had to flee. Their neighborhood lost 300 homes. Now, with Megan living in LA, the family wanted to help however they could.
“Leslie and her daughter drove to LA with a car full of animal supplies – pet food and beds, mostly – to donate. But their first stop, a shelter in Agoura Hills, was evacuated, so they came here. Now this one’s evacuating. …
“The Walshes headed back to San Diego with their supplies. Over the next couple of days, Megan ran a donation drive among their San Diego neighbors. She and her parents returned to LA Sunday with a U-Haul truck and two more cars filled with clothing, toiletries, pet food, sleeping bags, air mattresses, and more. …
“Back at El Camino high school on Thursday, in the hours before the Kenneth Fire erupted, first responders had pulled into a corner parking lot to take a break and grab a meal. The shelter was overflowing with food donations, so school administrators redirected the potluck to feed firefighters and police officers.
“Administrative Director Jason Camp says the support for first responders was driven by an outpouring in the community. … He notes the number of people – emergency responders, volunteers, local officials – who are managing their own fears and losses from the widespread devastation. Nobody is untouched.
“Some people who are displaced or lost their homes want to be part of the solution and ‘to help somebody through the pain and maybe together they can get through it,’ he says. ‘It’s refreshing to see that not everything’s in total chaos. The heart is still there.’ ”
More at the Monitor, here.
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