150 Filipinos in LA displaced due to wildfires

FILE: The Palisades Fire viewed from the shoreline, January 8. (Photo By CAL FIRE_Official/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

By Ma. Teresa Montemayor, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – Some 150 Filipinos have been displaced in Los Angeles, California due to wildfires, a Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) official said Monday.

In an interview over ABS News Channel, DFA Assistant Secretary Adelio Angelito Cruz said those displaced had to undergo mandatory evacuation along with over 100,000 residents in areas ravaged by the fires in southern California.

“They are now being housed in evacuation centers. We’re trying to help them find long-term housing, since most of them have been displaced by the fires,” he said.

The DFA continues to monitor them and provides each of them with USD200 emergency assistance for food, medicine and medical supplies.

“I have been authorized by the DFA to extend USD200 to every Filipino initially affected by the wildfires, and then we can move on from there,” he said.

“The help and assistance that the Philippine government will be extending eventually will lead to them finding hopefully new jobs and new places to stay,” he added.

Undocumented Filipino workers

Cruz noted that California, a sanctuary state, hosts Filipino workers with blue collar jobs and limited insurance or no insurance at all. Some are even undocumented.

California was designated as a sanctuary state in 2017. State officials and law enforcement cannot ask the immigration status of individuals staying there.

“They don’t actually care whether you’re documented or undocumented. If you need help, if you need medical assistance, they will provide and they will assist,” he said.

Firefighters continue to battle the wildfires fueled by strong winds across Los Angeles Palisades, Eaton, and Hurst.

The fires have destroyed about 12,000 houses and buildings, vehicles, and claimed the lives of at least 24 individuals since it started on Jan. 7.

Because of dangerous conditions, a fire warning remains in effect until Wednesday and evacuation orders have been extended until at least Thursday.