
Written by Jennifer Chien
Translated by H.B. Qin
Edited by Ida Eva Zielinska
Tzu Chi USA has mobilized to help those affected by the destructive wildfires that ignited in Southern California on January 7, 2025, and spread swiftly, fanned by the fierce and dry Santa Ana winds that regularly descend from inland desert regions to the Pacific Coast around Los Angeles. Volunteers from Tzu Chi USA National Headquarters and the San Gabriel Valley Service Center set up an emergency Tzu Chi Care Center in El Monte by the morning of January 8. They also visited several shelters that offered accommodations to evacuated area residents and delivered water and meals to families living near the disaster zone who had lost power.
Escaping the Flames


The Eaton Fire, which was threatening the San Gabriel Valley, was located about a 30-minute drive north of the Tzu Chi USA San Gabriel Valley Service Center in El Monte. Volunteers from the Service Center gathered early for a morning prayer before immediately mobilizing to assist area residents affected by the wildfire. One group of volunteers stayed at the Service Center and quickly set up a temporary shelter there using Jing Si Furniture.
At the same time, another group visited the temporary shelters set up by the American Red Cross (ARC) in Arcadia and Pasadena. Their goal was to understand the needs of evacuated residents and coordinate with the ARC, a long-time Tzu Chi partner in disaster relief, to learn more about the situation and discuss the assistance that Tzu Chi can provide.


Through these and other endeavors, the teams began to hear the stories of individuals affected by this grave wildfire catastrophe. Argentina Macias, an Altadena area resident who assists Tzu Chi USA as a Hispanic community volunteer, recounted how, on January 7, she evacuated her family of six and their dog in a panic after seeing her next-door neighbor’s home catch fire. The family could not find a hotel with such a large dog and had to stay in a motel in El Monte.
“Our family was scared, tired, and hungry at the motel when I received the phone call from Dr. Lina Lin. She invited us to the Service Center in El Monte to have dinner and receive a ‘care package,’” Macias shared. When she arrived at the San Gabriel Valley Service Center with her exhausted family on the afternoon of January 8, they couldn’t help but embrace Tzu Chi volunteers, feeling lucky that their family had at least escaped the inferno safely.
“Due to the severity of the disaster, we expect to stay at the motel for at least three to four days,” Macias told the volunteers. “We return home every morning when allowed into the locked-down area and spray the roof and lawn with water to keep the spaces around the house moist and non-flammable. All we can do now is pray and hope that our home will still be there once the fire dies down.”


It’s so great to come to Tzu Chi. The volunteers received us with care, which warmed us up from the bottom of our hearts.
Argentina Macias
Disaster Area Resident
Marcias and her family were very impressed by the emergency Tzu Chi Care Center when the volunteers gave them a tour of the temporary shelter, complete with partitions for privacy and furnished with Tzu Chi’s signature Jing Si multipurpose beds, tables, and chairs. Seeing the volunteers preparing “care packages” was touching as well. They contained instant noodles, multi-grain instant mixes, rice snacks, and soda crackers lovingly produced by Dharma masters from the Jing Si Abode in Hualien, Taiwan.


Spiritual Comfort and More
The Eaton Fire caused a widespread power outage in the San Gabriel Valley. Considering that residents would be unable to cook and had to avoid going out due to the haze of the wildfire, at around noon, San Gabriel Valley Service Center volunteers began delivering care packages to the homes of Tzu Chi volunteers and members with mobility issues. The gifts brought some peace of mind to residents near the encroaching wildfire who had not yet evacuated.
“We started calling volunteers and members living near the wildfire on the evening of January 7 and confirmed that everyone had been evacuated safely. But there are some families that suffered damage to their belongings,” James Chen, head of the San Gabriel Valley Service Center, explained. “Starting from January 8, Tzu Chi volunteers began going to different shelters to care for evacuated residents, provide spiritual comfort and understand their needs, and accompany them until the evacuation ends. We have also opened our office to accommodate volunteers and members in need, providing hot meals in addition to temporary shelter.”




Tzu Chi Collegiate Association (Tzu Ching) volunteers help out in a shelter. Photo/Lina Lin
Leanne Chang, who leads the team of volunteers in the area, said: “At the shelter set up at the Pasadena Convention Center, we saw many elders evacuated from nursing homes. Many of them were mobility-impaired or even bedridden and needed help receiving supplies and meals. Therefore, Dr. Lina Lin immediately decided to stay at the scene with some Tzu Ching volunteers [Tzu Chi Collegiate Association members] to provide timely assistance to the affected people.”
I was there to help those lonely elderly people or to hand them anything they needed; they actually needed warm company.
Dr. Lina Lin
Optometrist
Tzu Chi International Medical Association
Our Aid Is Just Beginning
The Santa Ana winds started severely impacting Southern California on January 7, fueling the spread of multiple wildfires that ignited that day through powerful gusts ranging from 55 to 80 miles per hour. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), as of the morning of January 8, five large-scale fires in the Southern California region were raging uncontained: the Palisades Fire, Hurst Fire, Eaton Fire, and Woodley Fire in Los Angeles County, and the Tyler Fire in Riverside County.


The Eaton Fire most threatened the San Gabriel Valley, where residents in the area north of Orange Grove Avenue in Arcadia, almost two-thirds of Sierra Madre, east of Highway 2 in Glendale, and all of Altadena and Pasadena’s Hastings Ranch were initially under evacuation orders. Tzu Chi USA’s disaster response for this fire and others mobilized immediately and is ongoing. As our volunteers monitor the status of the wildfires and establish aid plans, they also pray for the people of Southern California, hoping that firefighters succeed in containing and extinguishing the wildfires as soon as possible to deter more serious loss of life and property.
Please join hands with us by supporting our Help Los Angeles Heal fundraising campaign
in response to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County. Your donation can mean a cash card in the hands of someone who lost everything and must rebuild from scratch. And we will deliver your love in person, offering comfort at a time of greatest need.