Communities in California have been ravaged by two separate wildfires, one burning in the northern part of the state and the other in an area surrounding Los Angeles.

CJP is providing $25,000 in immediate aid to the Los Angeles Wildfire Relief Fund, opened by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.

More than 42 people have lost their lives since fires began, making the blazes the deadliest in California’s history. Despite the valiant efforts of firefighters, blazes continue in thousands of acres in the state. The destruction has been widespread and devastating, fed by low humidity and hurricane-force winds. The threat to people, homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses will only increase in the coming days in fire threat zones that extend for hundreds of miles.

Thousands of individuals and families have already had to be evacuated and displaced. The impact on the Jewish community has been profound as well. Three Jewish summer camps have burned to the ground and will need to be completely rebuilt before next summer. The Ilan Ramon Jewish Day School was completely destroyed. Synagogues in southern California have also sustained damage, even as religious leaders scrambled to save precious Torah scrolls.

In the days to come, we expect needs on the ground in and around Los Angeles and in Northern California to increase. If you’d like to contribute to the fund, visit www.jewishla.org/LAfires. One hundred percent of your contribution will assist the many affected in the community.