Greetings from Northern California, where we just had a weekend of warm, dry weather—which means we are vulnerable to disastrous wildfires.
Indeed, a new fire just started on Sunday in Santa Rosa, only about an hour north of where I live. And we are all nervously eyeing what may happen next.
This has been the worst season for wildfires on the West Coast, ever. Climate change is here, and the effects will get worse. According to CalFire, this year our fire season has been 26 times more severe than in 2019—and the scary part is how early it started.
Thousands of families are without power, drinkable water, medical supplies, safe shelter, and access to food. Daily Kos has identified 23 charities in California, Oregon, and Washington State that are working to provide immediate relief. Please chip in whatever is meaningful to you to help west coasters weather this disaster.
If you think this won't affect the upcoming election, think again. With half a million Oregonians currently under some sort of evacuation order and nearly 400,000 Californians having lived in a mandatory evacuation order at some point during this season, the last thing on their minds is how they will vote. California and Oregon have good laws that allow for absentee voting, but if your house has burned down and you lost everything, voting will not be a top priority.
That's why the work of all these charitable organizations is so crucial. People on the West Coast who have lost everything need help immediately, so they can get their lives back to normal. And with climate change on the ballot, we need to make it easy for everyone to vote.
When I wrote this on Monday morning, the air quality forced me to close my windows. I'm lucky, though—other folks have lost everything. It's time to pitch in and help them get their lives back together.
Chip in $1 each to these 23 charities in California, Oregon, and Washington State that are working to provide immediate relief for those displaced by the wildfires.