Canadian charity group launches one-stop site for L.A. wildfire relief donations

A Canadian donation platform is raising funds to deliver relief to communities devastated by wildfires near Los Angeles.

On Thursday, CanadaHelps, an online funding aggregator for charities, launched a ‘crisis centre’ to help Canadians know where to give.

Nicole Danesi with CanadaHelps says it’s unusual for Canadian charities to respond to disaster zones in the United States, but given the “unprecedented nature” of the destruction in California, several have stepped up. She says her organization has assembled those charities on a dedicated webpage.

“When you land on that page, you can then browse organizations that are fundraising because they are responding to the fires in California,” Danesi explained. 

“For example, there’s an organization called Global Fire. They are a really interesting organization, where they are fundraising to provide fire skid units. And essentially these units are put on the back of pickup trucks and can hold about 1,000 litres of water, and there’s a pump and a hose, and then individuals can essentially put that skid on the back of any truck and almost turn it into a semi, fire truck. And it has been used by Global Fire in other disaster areas, when we’ve experienced wildfires in Canada, for example.”

She also noted Disaster Aid Canada, based in Ladysmith, B.C., which is supporting a network of volunteers in L.A.

“I think it’s important — when any Canadian is wanting to make a donation and be generous in that way — it is important to be donating to registered organizations, to be assured that your donation is going to the place that you intend it to go to. So oftentimes, one of the best ways of doing that is to donate to a registered Canadian charity. You do get a Canadian tax receipt, which, of course, is an added bonus,” said Danesi.

The Eaton and Palisades fires’ rampage through Los Angeles has killed at least 27 people, destroyed more than 12,000 structures, and put more than 80,000 under evacuation orders. The fires are likely to be among the most destructive in California history, according to the state agency CalFire.

—With files from The Associated Press and Michael Williams