Direct Relief  sent an emergency shipment to Shingleton Medical Center in response to the fires burning in Northern California. The Ponderosa Fire has scorched 12,000 acres and is threatening over 3,000 structures in Tehama and Shasta Counties.

Candy Stockton, Medical Director at Shingleton Medical Center, reports that an estimated 40 to 60 percent of the clinic’s 2,400 patients live in the evacuation areas. The clinic is prepared to evacuate should the fire pose a danger to the facility.

Dr. Stockton, has requested inhalers and other items to treat respiratory problems caused by smoke inhalation and poor air quality. Direct Relief would like to thank Merck & Co., Inc. and AstraZeneca for their support.

Direct Relief has a history of responding to wildfires in the United States, most recently those that burned in Colorado in June. According to the U.S. Forest Service, over 40 large fires are currently active in western states.