As wildfires tear through Los Angeles County, tens of thousands of unhoused residents face a cascade of risks: toxic air they can’t filter, emergency alerts they can’t receive, and evacuation orders they struggle to follow.
County officials have relocated hundreds of people from immediate danger zones, but health providers and homeless advocates say there’s more to be done for the area’s 75,000 unhoused residents. The crisis, they say, has exposed critical gaps in how the region protects its most vulnerable residents.
“Our folks, they’re almost like sitting ducks,” said Melissa Chavez with VelNonArt Transformative Health, a community health provider serving unhoused residents in the Antelope Valley, San Fernando Valley and Long Beach.
“They’re in these fire hazardous places where there is still toxic air — with very limited resources,” Chavez said.
Wildfire danger in Southern California is far from over, with firefighters still working the Palisades and Eaton fires that started two weeks ago. New evacuations were ordered Wednesday after a fire erupted in the L.A. County community of Castaic and swiftly grew to more than 9,000 acres.
That means an even greater strain on area resources.
“We’re trying to meet as many needs as possible,” said Ryan Smith, CEO of the St. Joseph Center, the main homeless services provider in West L.A. “It’s not easy.”
Health concerns
L.A. County officials have urged residents to avoid breathing in smoke and ash, and to stay indoors when possible while fires are burning. But about 52,000 people who live outside — in tents, cars, RVs and makeshift shelters — find it difficult to avoid toxic…
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