As Angelenos reckon with the impact of the recent and ongoing wildfires and their aftermath, our community of journalists has been on the ground documenting the devasting damage residents are grappling with, as well as sharing resources and information vital to those impacted directly and indirectly by the fires.
In this post, we aim to compile reporting from our community in an effort to highlight their work and make it easy for readers to find and peruse.
Brian De Los Santos breaks down LA Mayor Karen Bass’s executive order aimed at speeding up recovery for fire victims on Instagram. He also shares how domestic workers have been affected by the fires in this feature for LAist.
Before you clean the ash from your home, read former NLGJA LA Board member Cato Hernández’s article in LAist on how to be safe while you clean.
NLGJA LA member Victoria Ivie covered a news conference last week for Pasadena Star-News where advocates called on officials to not leave Black and Latino fire victims behind. She also shared a great piece on how fire victims can get help with federal aid at L.A. County Libraries.
NLGJA LA member Jireh Deng was also on the ground interviewing impacted community members. They shared the stories of teens affected by the fires in Teen Vogue and Altadena residents in The Guardian.
Also with young people in mind, LA NLGJA member Jaweed Kaleem wrote for the Los Angeles Times about free camps available for kids in Los Angeles that parents can take advantage of.
L.A.’s lesbian fire chief Kristin Crowley has been in the news lately, in part for just being a queer person in a leadership role. NLGJA LA member Gisselle Palomera breaks down the criticism Crowley has received versus what she’s actually done in the Los Angeles Blade. They also ventured into Altadena and shared the following photos with us in partnership with the Los Angeles Blade and Caló News.
If you have tuned into ABC7 to hear updates on the fires, there is a good chance you saw something produced by NLGJA LA Board Co-President Katherine Karl. You can watch one segment she produced on the ABC7 Instagram.
NLGJA LA member Marc Malkin made an appearance on KTLA5 to remind viewers of the toll the fires have and will continue to take on those working in the entertainment industry beyond celebrities.
Los Angeles Times staff writer and NLGJA member Keri Blakinger put together a guide for residents working to remove the smell, ash and other toxic compounds the fires left behind in their homes.
Are you an LGBTQ+ journalist in Southern California covering the L.A. Wildfires? Email LA@nlgja.org with your work and we will add it to our blog.