
Written by Jennifer Chien
Translated by H.B. Qin
Edited by Ariel Tsai
Led by Tzu Chi USA Executive Director Debra Bordeaux, Venerable Venerable Bhante Chao Chu of Los Angeles Buddhist Union, and Jan Chase, Minister of the Unity Church joined hands with representatives of the Los Angeles County government, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Los Angeles (TECO Los Angeles), and leaders of major community organizations in an interfaith unity to pray for the well-being of Southern California at the San Gabriel Valley Service Center on January 11, 2025, praying that the fire will die down soon so that the loss of life and property will be minimized, and calling on all parties to unite their efforts to help the traumatized families in this time of crisis.

Tzu Chi Mobilizes Immediately After Wildfires
The Santa Ana Winds started to hit Southern California on January 7 and have ignited multiple wildfires with strong winds ranging from 55 to 80 miles per hour. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) fire map, as of the morning of January 8, there have been a total of five large-scale fires in the Southern California region, i.e. the Palisades Wildfire, the Hurst Fire, the Eaton Fire, and the Woodley Fire in Los Angeles County, and the Tyler Fire in Riverside County.
Under dry and windy conditions, devastating fires are spreading across Southern California. The largest of these fires, the Palisades Wildfire, has burned more than 23,000 acres and destroyed thousands of structures; it has resulted in evacuation orders for more than 100,000 people, and 16 people have died in the fire.

The powerful Santa Ana winds have fueled the Eaton Fire and threatened the San Gabriel Valley, forcing so many to evacuate, including a large number of Asian-American residents. Tzu Chi USA and its San Gabriel Valley Service Center responded immediately, establishing a care center on January 8 to provide shelter, meals, and essential supplies to those affected.
Tzu Chi volunteers have been visiting shelters that house evacuated residents daily, while delivering water and meals to families who live near the affected areas experiencing power outages. In addition, responding to requests from the Los Angeles County government, local police and fire departments, and the American Red Cross, which manages the shelters, Tzu Chi has also donated substantial quantities of eco-blankets, N95 masks, and protective eyewear for use in shelters and by first responders.



At the prayer service, Tzu Chi USA shows the participants shelter relief supplies, including food, warm clothing, hygiene products, and Jing Si eco-friendly furniture, which are ideal for use in the shelters.

Shared caption, if applies.
Praying Amidst the Disaster of the Century
In response to the disaster, Tzu Chi USA Headquarters held a prayer service at the San Gabriel Valley Service Center, where representatives from various parties sat together and spoke freely at the meeting. In the midst of the natural disaster, everyone’s hearts were united in prayer for the disaster of the century.
“We are deeply grateful to have Southern California’s interfaith leaders and representatives from various organizations gather today to offer sincere prayers of love, and hope that this collective energy will transform the situation,” said Debra Bordreaux, Executive Officer of Tzu Chi USA. “In addition to the power of prayer, we need the collective strength of compassion. Tzu Chi USA has established a wildfire relief webpage and is utilizing social media platforms to inform the public about how their contributions will be used to support efforts to protect the affected homes.”
Venerable Bhante Chao Chu of the Los Angeles Buddhist Union said, “Currently, government agencies and first responders are fully engaged in firefighting efforts, but we must also all understand that the post-fire rebuilding effort will not only take a few weeks or months but will rather be a process that will likely take several years. Everyone can support organizations like Tzu Chi in providing affected communities with supplies, financial assistance, emotional support, and spiritual care.”
Jan Chase, Minister of the Unity Church said, “I’ll be supporting Tzu Chi USA’s work in the fire zones along with my friends in the faith community.”
I’d like to thank Tzu Chi for holding this touching event, bringing interfaith representatives together to pray for those affected by the fires.
Jan Chase, Minister of the Unity Church
At the prayer service, Tzu Chi USA also highlighted shelter relief supplies, including food, warm clothing, hygiene products, and Jing Si eco-friendly furniture, which are ideal for use in shelters.




Unite to Cope With the Disaster
At the event, representatives from various organizations expressed their determination to unite to cope with the disaster, and put forward initial response measures, saying that they look forward to cooperating with Tzu Chi to help survivors struck by the fires.
To assist Los Angeles firefighters and affected residents in coping with the air pollution caused by the wildfires, TECO Los Angeles Deputy Director General Chen donated 10,000 N95 face masks and three boxes of protective goggles to Tzu Chi USA on behalf of the office. These face masks were donated by a generous Taiwanese expatriate through China Airlines’ Americas Regional Office with the coordination of TECO Los Angeles, hoping to provide practical health protection for rescue personnel and affected residents, mitigating the impact of the disaster. “We will continue to cooperate with overseas Chinese community organizations to support relevant disaster relief and reconstruction efforts,” Linghsin Chen emphasized.
Reggie Shum, former president of the Los Angeles Panyu Association, made a donation at the event, urging the community to get involved. “Tzu Chi is already helping out,” Shum expressed, “and I hope to get more people on board to give what they can, whether it’s money or time, to support the families affected by the fires.”

Representing the office of the Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Community Outreach Deputy Jimmy Wu said, “We thank Tzu Chi USA for their prompt delivery of supplies to the Pomona Shelter on January 8, in response to the request of County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. The county government is fully devoted to these disaster relief efforts, and needs the help of community organizations like Tzu Chi in bringing together help for those affected.” Jimmy Wu also personally donated to Tzu Chi USA after the event.
Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association Los Angeles President Norman Nie said, “The CCBA will host a fundraising gala tomorrow evening to extend our full help, and I hope everyone will support us.”
This is a major disaster. I thank Tzu Chi for the invitation to the prayer service. I’m calling for unity and support from the Chinese community for survivors of the wildfires. We’ll work together!
Norman Nie
Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association Los Angeles President
“It is heartbreaking to see entire communities reduced to ashes by the wildfires,” said Jason Su, Honor President of the Hai-Nan Association of Southern California, “All community organizations should unite their efforts, and our association will fully encourage our members to participate in relief efforts.” Jason Su and the association’s president, Sean Hang, also represented the Association in making a donation to Tzu Chi USA to show the organization’s support.

Jacquelyn Tseng, Chairwoman of the Joint Chinese University Alumni Association of Southern California, said, “It is deeply distressing to see the severity of the wildfires, which is why I am here at Tzu Chi’s prayer service hoping to do my part. We will call upon all alum associations in Southern California to contribute their efforts. In addition to donations of money and supplies, people can also volunteer their time. Furthermore, and more importantly, everyone should have fire prevention awareness and take proper fire safety measures.”
The prayer service ended warmly with prayers and blessings from the crowd. Holding heart lamps in their hands, everyone sang and prayed sincerely for the survivors and for the disaster to subside as soon as possible. Debra Bordeaux expressed the heartfelt prayers of the crowd, “I pray that the fire in Southern California will subside as soon as possible, and that rain will fall soon to help us extinguish the fire. At this moment, we should protect our homes with love, and we are grateful to all congregations, as well as social representatives, charitable organizations, government agencies, as well as Dharma masters and religious representatives, for helping us to bring this love and positive energy to the survivors, and may all have blessings of peace, thank you everyone!”

That same afternoon, Tzu Chi USA established the Los Angeles Wildfire Disaster Relief Coordination Center at its San Dimas headquarters, connecting all its offices across the United States. Volunteers from Tzu Chi’s Northwest Region, Seattle Branch, San Francisco Branch, Portland Service Center, and Sacramento Service Center also launched fundraising and awareness campaigns during the weekend of January 11 and 12.
In the wake of the devastating disaster of the century in Los Angeles County, thousands of families lost their homes overnight. Tzu Chi USA Headquarters has activated its disaster relief mechanism and is preparing for immediate emergency relief activities and future mid- and long-term reconstruction care programs to provide real-time care and support to the survivors of the disaster. Please join us in praying for the fire to die down as soon as possible. Let’s work together to comfort the survivors with love, let’s join our efforts to rebuild our homes!