The LA fires are a perfectly preventable disaster that has affected many lives and properties. However, it is also bringing out the best sides of people as many have come together to provide support to those most affected by the blaze.
Halle Berry is one of those taking steps to support those affected by the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. On January 9, Berry took to Instagram to reveal plans to donate her entire wardrobe to those in need.
Halle Berry’s Humanitarian Effort
The talented actress has joined hands with fellow actress Sharon Stone and +COOP, a home goods store in Beverly Hills, to support donation efforts, by collecting gently used clothing for men, women, and children displaced by the fires.
+COOP, which was founded by real estate agent Jenna Cooper, has turned its shop into a temporary fire relief donation collection center amid the deadly wildfires.
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“I’m packing up my entire closet and heading over to the COOP! If you live in the Southern California area, I urge you to do the same,” Berry captioned her Instagram post on Thursday. “This is something we can do right now today to help all of the displaced families that are in need of the basics today! Thank you @sharonstone for your leadership. Love you Lady.”
The post included a video clip originally shared on Stone’s Instagram account a day earlier, in which Stone could be heard promoting the donation effort.
“We’re at the COOP at 7282 Beverly Blvd., collecting gently used clothing for kids, men, women, children, people that have been displaced and affected by the fire,” she says in the clip, before entering the shop to show the relief effort in action.
She added, “We have beautiful cashmere sweaters, jeans, new socks, shoes, clothes, blankets … you can come and shop. You can also come and donate.” In a separate post on January 9, Stone revealed that donations have been “pouring in.” She even claimed they had to put up a makeshift sign because cars were “lined up around the block donating.”
What Is Causing the LA Fires?
The LA fires have caused significant destruction and caused thousands of families to be displaced. The death count has risen to 24 people, with more than a dozen others unaccounted for. Firefighters continue to battle the flames. But they remain only partially contained and have been fueled by severe drought conditions and strong winds.
As the fires continue to blaze in the Los Angeles area for a second week, threatening even more lives and property, government officials and members of the public have begun debating what caused them.
President-elect Donald Trump was one of the first to point fingers and say i-told-you-so. He called out California’s Governor Gavin Newsom in a social media post, claiming that he had “refused to sign the water restoration declaration.”
Newsom responded, “There is no such document as the ‘water restoration declaration. That is pure fiction.” He has since revealed a new website launched to counter misinformation about the causes of the LA fires.
The subject of what is causing the wildfires is a complicated one with no single answer. Some believe it is a side effect of worsening climate change, while others highlight potential immediate causes like arson and damaged powerlines.
In the Kenneth Fire, for instance, cops arrested a man last week attempting to light a fire in Woodland Hills. Residents of Altadena also claim they saw flames originating from power lines in the area, which is what they believe started the Eaton Fire.
There Are Claims Climate Change Is An Underlying Factor Causing the LA Fires
While some are focused on immediate causes, climate scientists are using the opportunity to emphasize that climate change caused by the burning of fossil fuels is an underlying factor making wildfire conditions much worse.
On its website, the American Association for the Advancement of Science points out how, in the Southwest, it has been the “driest 22-year period in at least 1,200 years, based on soil water content.” It also claims that research has shown that “human-caused climate change was responsible for 42% of that soil dryness.”
The so-called “climate whiplash” is another underlying factor. It occurs when one extreme weather seemingly follows another due to climate change and rising global temperatures. 2025 started dry in Southern California.
However, the past two years saw the area experience extraordinarily wet conditions, resulting in super-charged plant growth. When those conditions turned dry again, it created especially dangerous wildfire fuel.
Update On the LA City Fires
According to Los Angeles’s medical examiner’s office, the death toll from the LA city fires has reached 24. So far, the LA Palisades fire is only about 14% contained. The blaze has burned through more than 23,700 acres in and around Pacific Palisades and killed at least eight people.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley has revealed that the fire has destroyed more than 5,300 structures since it began last week. Firefighters are currently attempting to stop the fire from reaching Brentwood, where the Getty Center is, and Interstate 405.
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The firefighters battling the Eaton Fire have had more luck, and it is now 33 percent contained. On the city’s east side, near Pasadena, the fire has claimed at least 16 lives and burned through 14,117 acres. According to the officials, more than 7,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed by the fire.
The Hurst fire is now 97% contained. But the fire managed to cover 799 acres of land in the north, near San Fernando. A new brush fire also broke out at a river bottom in Ventura County on Monday evening. While containment remains at 0 percent, Ventura County firefighters have said they were able to stop the fire’s forward progress.
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