A vicious, wind-driven fire continued to blaze this week in Ventura County, California, where the Mountain Fire burned more than 80 homes to the ground and threatened thousands more. At least 10,000 people were under mandatory evacuation orders in the county as firefighters continued their air assault on the blaze, with water drops deluging the flames from above and hand crews working on the ground below.
Direct Relief staff were in Ventura County on Thursday distributing respirators and other requested medical aid to support people who have been evacuated by the fires, as well as those impacted by poor air quality.
According to the Air Quality Index, “unhealthy” levels of particulates in the air were measured in the Oxnard and Camarillo areas of Southern California on Thursday, and many communities downwind from the blaze were inundated with high levels of smoke from the Mountain Fire.
Direct Relief staff distributed 3M-donated N-95 respirators from a distribution point at the YMCA in Ventura for the public to pick up throughout the day, and Direct Relief staff also made deliveries across the county to agencies and organizations serving impacted communities.
The Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project, or MICOP, works with indigenous migrant communities, many of whom work in agricultural industries in the county. The group received N-95 respirators to distribute to people exposed to poor air while working outdoors.
Respirators were also delivered to the Ventura County Farm Bureau to support farmworkers potentially impacted by poor air quality, as well as to the Ventura County Office of Emergency Services.
The Westminster Free Clinic, which is located several miles from a mandatory evacuation zone, also received N95 respirators and hygiene items to distribute to people who have been evacuated from their homes.
On Thursday, Santa Barbara County Fire Department was providing aerial support with the country’s helicopter that was retrofitted for large water drops. Direct Relief provided financial support to outfit the helicopter with the ability drop about 1,000 gallons of water, and the helicopter is used frequently to douse wildfires in the county, and is also deployed to nearby counties, including Ventura, to support air operations.
Dry conditions and high winds also prompted a smaller 50-acre fire to break out near Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc in Santa Barbara County, and Direct Relief will respond to any needs that become known from that fire as well.
Direct Relief has a long history of responding to wildfires throughout the state, as well as across the U.S. The organization maintains a medical inventory, including medications often requested during fire events. Those items include respiratory medications, including inhalers and nebulizers for people with asthma, ophthalmic medicines, and medications for chronic diseases, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, which can create emergency situations if unmanaged. Medical support requested in the recovery phase often include tetanus vaccine to protect people clearing debris from their properties.
Direct Relief also maintains an inventory of personal protective equipment for people returning to their homes to begin cleanup in areas that are often filled with hazardous ash. During past fires, including the 2023 Maui wildfire, Direct Relief equipped people returning to their homes with protective respirators, coveralls, goggles, gloves, and shoe covers to protect them from ash that can contain heavy metals and other harmful chemicals.
The organization is in contact with the Ventura County Office of Emergency Services, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, California Primary Care Association, and California Association of Free and Charitable Clinics, and will continue to respond to medical needs as they become known.
