Red Cross Responds to Massive California Park Fire

First ignited on Wednesday, July 24 outside of Chico, California, the Park Fire has now consumed more than 350,000 acres, requiring thousands of people to evacuate from a number of small mountain communities. The American Red Cross has been on the ground since day one, providing shelter, meals and support to displaced residents while they await the all-clear to return to their homes.

This area along the northern boundary of the Sierra Nevada range is also home to Paradise, the mountain town completely destroyed by the 2018 Camp Fire. The deadliest and most destructive wildfire in state history—it burned more than a million acres and claimed 85 lives—this fast-moving inferno devastated Paradise and other nearby communities, ultimately destroying more than 18,000 homes.

Amidst this overwhelming destruction, thousands of Red Cross volunteers and employees worked alongside local teams to deliver vital aid for stricken residents, many of whom had lost everything to the blazes. They helped open and staff shelters, offering refuge for thousands of people who fled their homes as the fires threatened, providing meals, relief supplies and emotional and spiritual care for traumatized survivors and heartbroken families.

The Camp Fire was tragic and, although some residents have returned or rebuilt, many left the area completely. For those who remained in the area, this year’s blaze is an unwelcome reminder of the ever-present fire risk inherent to mountain living and the changing climate conditions that help fuel these fires.

Adora Molina survived the Camp Fire and eventually resettled in the nearby community of Magalia. Upon receiving an evacuation warning about the Park Fire via text message last Wednesday, she wasted no time in evacuating. “My husband and I had a frightening experience trying to get to safety in 2018, there just wasn’t enough time,” Molina says. “So, when I got the first evacuation warning the other day, I wasn’t going to wait for an order, I was leaving right then.”

Molina and many of her Magalia neighbors have since found comfort in the Red Cross shelter in Chico and patiently wait for the all-clear to return home. California has already lost more than 700,000 acres of land to wildfire this year, more than twice the amount lost in 2023 and 2022. As with the Camp Fire, the Red Cross is committed to providing relief for fire evacuees for as long as needed.