Dozens of organizations have banded together to help fire-stricken community members impacted by the Eaton Fire. Lolita Lopez reports for the NBC4 News at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.
Dozens of organizations that came together to serve Altadena community members who were impacted by the destructive Eaton Fire are seeking volunteers and donors to help with their ongoing efforts.
Eaton Fire Collaborative is an initiative comprised of roughly 75 organizations dedicated to helping wildfire-affected residents recover and rebuild what they lost during January’s fire. Its mission is to “provide a coordinated response and clear communication to ensure that resources, assistance, and information reach the people and organizations that need them most,” it says on its website.
Victoria Knapp, one of the several members of the initiative, said that part of the effort includes outreach to inform residents of the support available to them.
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“We're trying to reach fire survivors, those that need help and resources that are still trying to determine where to go to get help,” she said.
Not only is Knapp part of the collective, but she’s also chair of the Altadena Town Council and one of the thousands of people who lost their homes to the fire.
“There's really no word in the English language that touches the depth and breadth of the devastation of seeing your home reduced to rubble,” she said.
Amara Ononiwu, who represents faith leads in the collab, coordinates resources to ensure they’re being given to households who need them.
“What we're aiming to do here is to make sure that we have vetted information so that people can move forward, because it has been a challenge,” Ononiwu said. “Debris removal, questions of insurance, all of these things, because we're different, we're dealing in different jurisdictions. It's a harder situation. We have city, we have county jurisdiction in the same fire footprint.”
Part of the rebuilding effort is fostering a sense of community to remind residents they have support if needed.
“I just said to two of my friends that live in other parts of the country that the country has moved on,” Knapp said. “And as someone who's going through this, it's very hard. We can't do this by ourselves.”
While organizers continue their work to help the community, they’re hoping volunteers will be able to give their time to the cause or donate funds or goods to support residents.
“So, whatever your particular skill set is, whatever time you have, they will take it,” Knapp said. “And I encourage people to go to the collaborative's website to determine how they can get involved.”
For more information on Eaton Fire Collaborative and how to get involved, click here.
