While nearby hillsides were ablaze, local business owners and grassroots organizations stepped up to help their fellow Angelenos.
In the San Fernando Valley, The Midnight Hour Records in the City of San Fernando converted its store into a donation and distribution center.
Sergio Amalfitano, owner of the record shop, stood at the entrance with lists of items that were needed at various locations across LA.
“We’re basically a donation hub, or a drop-off hub so that people here in the Northeast Valley can come and drop off whatever they want to donate,” said Amalfitano.
As donations poured in, volunteers from the valley organized items, boxed them up and transported them to various locations including Hope the Mission, the San Fernando Family Center, the YMCA and the Pasadena Community Labor Center.
“We’re a community over commodity business. We operate for the community,” said Amalfitano about why he decided to turn over his place of business to this effort. “This is our family, our friends, our neighbors, you know. And even if they were strangers, we would still want to help.”
The Midnight Hour has functioned as more than a record store, often holding benefit shows and community events, and has provided a safe space for queer youth in the area.
The Northeast Valley-based political group The People’s Struggle San Fernando Valley also offered aid to the community.
A lead organizer for the group, Howie Galper said they’ve had over 150 volunteers a day who have collected and distributed masks, water bottles, diapers, toys, hygiene products and food to those in need. He said they also operated a dispatch for rides to escort people out of the evacuation zones, including Sylmar.
Galper said they were going door-to-door to check on residents in the San Fernando Valley who were without power – providing generators to those who needed to keep medical equipment running and powerbanks for people to charge their phones.
Although homes near the Hurst Fire in Sylmar were spared from the flames unlike other areas of LA, residents were evacuated and have had to contend with widespread blackouts.
“This crisis has inflamed the issues that were already in the San Fernando Valley,” said Galper, “like our city’s infrastructure being ignored.”
Going forward, Galper hopes to see relief from the disaster, accountability from our representatives and rebuilding that prioritizes the immediate needs of residents.
He maintains there was a need for large grassroots efforts because “the city neglected its role in the response.”
After such an outpouring of community response, organizations serving as drop-off and distribution centers are now becoming overwhelmed with donations.
The city of LA has become more visible in establishing public support now handing out water, food and face masks at various locations.
So, Amalfitano is ending the current donation drive at his business and looking toward what comes next. He recognizes the needs of those affected by the fires will change in the coming weeks and months and hopes Angelenos will continue to show up for one another as the city looks to rebuild.
“Stay safe and take care of each other,” said Amalfitano. “Have some grace and empathy for each other, and some patience.”