VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (January 9, 2025) – A disaster relief team from Operation Blessing is headed West to help residents in California wildfire-affected communities. The destructive fires have so far killed 10 people and destroyed over 10,000 structures. More than 180,000 residents are under evacuation orders while roughly 5 fires are still raging in the greater Los Angeles area.
The team is led by Diego Traverso, director of International Disaster Relief, who most recently oversaw Operation Blessing’s ongoing Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in North Carolina. The team is expected to begin arriving in Los Angeles later today. Once on the ground, they will begin assessing the situation to determine the greatest needs, as well as meeting with emergency management officials and local partners to set up distribution points.
On the Ground Relief Efforts
The demand for help in California wildfire-affected communities is great. To meet the demand, boxes of items have already begun being unloaded to help those in greatest need. Residents will be given food, water, hygiene kits and solar lights to aid in bringing relief and a sense of normalcy to their lives amid the devastation.
Today, in partnership with World Vision, Operation Blessing dispatched a tractor-trailer truckload of emergency relief supplies from the organization’s Grand Prairie, TX warehouse. The truck is expected to arrive on Friday and a distribution has been planned for Saturday, January 11 to take place at 10am Pacific at the Cathedral Church Highland Park (6408 Ruby St, Los Angeles). In addition, longtime partner, the humanitarian organization Mercury One is also supporting Operation Blessing’s relief efforts.
ABOUT OPERATION BLESSING:
Operation Blessing (OB) provides humanitarian services such as strategic disaster relief, medical aid, hunger relief, clean water and community development. Founded in 1978, Operation Blessing has touched the lives of millions of people in more than 90 countries and every state.
