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Hurricane Beryl and California Wildfires: Direct Relief Mobilizes Aid for Dual Crises

From hurricane activity in the U.S. Gulf to wildfires in California, the organization is responding on multiple fronts this week.

News

Extreme Weather

An early view of the Lake Fire in the Los Padres National Forest, near Zaca Lake in Santa Barbara County, California. (Photo courtesy of the USDA Forest Service)
By Tony Morain

As Hurricane Beryl strikes Texas after devastating the Caribbean, and with wildfires burning across California, Direct Relief is mobilizing extensive resources to address the simultaneous crises.

  • Hurricane Beryl: After clearing a devastating path through the Caribbean, Beryl struck Texas Monday morning as a Category 1 storm, flooding streets and cutting off power for 1.5 million residents.
  • Western Wildfires: A series of fast-burning wildfires ignited across California over the 4th of July weekend, as the state withered under record-breaking heat.

Direct Relief’s Response to Hurricane Beryl

Texas Hurricane Relief

  • Direct Relief has pre-positioned medical supplies in the path of the storm. The supplies, which include more than 200 medical items and supplies to support care for up to 100 people for 72 hours, are staged at healthcare facilities in Texas and throughout the Gulf, ensuring immediate availability post-storm.
  • Direct Relief is preparing to deliver an initial ten shipments of requested medical aid to health facilities in communities affected by Beryl.
  • Direct Relief has offered additional medical resources to the Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC), the Texas Association of Charitable Clinics (TXACC), and other local partners.
  • Direct Relief is in close contact with healthcare organizations and emergency responders in Texas to address medical needs that arise.

Caribbean Hurricane Relief

  • Direct Relief has dispatched medical packs to St. Vincent and Grenada from its stockpile in St. Lucia.
  • Twenty medical tents and patient beds are bound for Grenada and St. Vincent from Direct Relief’s logistics hub in Puerto Rico.
  • Direct Relief is preparing a substantial delivery of acute care medications to Jamaica in response to a request from the Ministry of Health.
  • Direct Relief is collaborating with Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to supply oral rehydration salts (ORS), medical-grade refrigerators, and other crucial supplies to St. Vincent, addressing urgent healthcare needs.

Assessing Beryl’s Impact and Post-Storm Needs

  • Across Jamaica and Grenada, the storm has resulted in significant power outages, disrupting healthcare services.
  • Several hospitals and health facilities were damaged by the storm, and much of the population is cut off from essential services due to damaged roads and other infrastructure.
  • Direct Relief is working with local and regional health agencies to restore medical services and supply essential medicines.
  • Direct Relief continues to monitor Beryl’s impact to assess health and emergency needs on the ground and is prepared to respond as needed.

Wildfires Impacting California

Twenty wildfires are burning across California, stretching emergency resources, forcing thousands to evacuate, and blanketing much of the state in a fog of smoke.

These include:

  • The Lake Fire in Santa Barbara County: Burning in a rugged area of Santa Barbara County, about fifty miles north of Direct Relief’s headquarters, the Lake Fire has scorched 20,320 acres to become the largest wildfire of the season. As of Monday morning, the fire was 8% contained.
  • The Thompson Fire in Butte County: Over 13,000 residents were under evacuation orders over the July 4th weekend due to a wildfire in Butte County, California, which was more than 80% contained as of July 7. The Thompson Fire, which broke out on the morning of July 2, burned over 3,700 acres near the City of Oroville.
  • The Royal Fire in Tahoe National Forest: Burning in remote and difficult to reach location, the Royal Fire spans 168 acres and was 0% contained as of Monday morning, according to Cal Fire.

Direct Relief’s Response to California Wildfires

  • Direct Relief is in contact with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to offer support and has extended offers of medical aid to community health centers, clinics, and other healthcare providers within fifty miles of the fires.
  • The organization is also in touch with national, state, and regional health centers, as well as free and charitable clinic associations.
  • Direct Relief maintains a stockpile of medications ready for rapid deployment, including emergency medical packs and wildfire kits.
  • In partnership with 3M, Direct Relief is making N95 respirators available to those affected by wildfire smoke, including individuals with chronic conditions and others most at risk during extreme heat and wildfire events. On Monday, Direct Relief provided more than one thousand N95 masks to the Santa Barbara Office of Emergency Management. More masks are available for residents should air quality deteriorate further.
  • To avoid the consequences of power loss to healthcare providers and patients, Direct Relief has worked to equip healthcare facilities in communities at high fire risk with resilient power systems, including battery backups and solar panels, ensuring continuous care.

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