California Is Burning

roselinproductions:

I don’t make posts like this often–ever, really–but I need you guys to understand what’s happening in my home right now.

As of 10 AM this morning, this is the air quality around where I live.

This means there is nowhere that the air is safe to breathe near me. Yesterday it got so bad that even inside the office I work in, the air was unsafe to breathe and our HR team had to secure masks for us to wear just to sit at our desks. There’s so much smoke in the air that it looks like cloud cover, and our temperature is decreasing because sunlight isn’t getting through.

And we are the lucky ones. Despite how bad our situation is, it could be so, so much worse.

The fires currently burning in California are now, officially, most destructive and deadliest we’ve ever had. 59 people have been confirmed dead, countless more are injured and missing. Thousands of homes have been destroyed, hundreds of thousands of people displaced. The town of Paradise, CA does not exist anymore. 138,000 acres have been decimated in the north; another 100,500 acres are burning in the south.

If you have anything to give, please help the people who have lost everything in these fires. 

Several national charities have opened up to accept aid for the victims of the California fires. I know American Red Cross has an article and is accepting donations for the victims, and California Community Foundation Wildfire Relief Fund is a reputable organization to donate to. 

If you are not comfortable with either of these, it should not be difficult to find a secure charity with a quick Google search if you are so inclined.

Thank you.