World Central Kitchen and Tyler Florence Feed Californians Affected by Wildfires
Earlier this month, José Andrés’ World Central Kitchen reached over one million meals served in the Bahamas, where WCK team members and volunteers mobilized to provide food and water in the wake of Hurricane Dorian. Now, there’s another Chef Relief Team active in California as multiple wildfires burn—the Kincade, Tick, and Getty fires.
The first fire, the Kincade Fire, broke out in Sonoma County on October 23, and The Washington Post reports that as of Sunday night, over 66,200 acres had burned and the fire was only five percent contained.
People of Sonoma! Please share! @WCKitchen is already in the area waiting, in case we have to provide food and water relief support! #ChefsForCalifornia @sonomasheriff https://t.co/db4ba672Ok
— José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) October 24, 2019
Nearly 200,000 people have been forced to evacuate, the largest number on record for Sonoma County. But World Central Kitchen was prepared.
Andrés tweeted on October 24 that World Central Kitchen was already stationed in Sonoma County to provide relief for those affected by the fire, and they’ve been on the ground since serving meals to residents and first responders.
Team members had hot chili ready for firefighters who were battling the blaze in 24-hour shifts on October 25; chef Jason Collis of WCK logged on October 25 and 26 to give updates about the fire from Geyserville and Santa Rosa.
UPDATE from our team on the ground in Santa Rosa, California where first responders are preparing for huge growth of the #KincadeFire & 50,000 residents were ordered to evacuate. We are already cooking, and will be here to serve everyone who needs a hot meal. #ChefsForCalifornia pic.twitter.com/vofZiwrxWg
— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) October 26, 2019
My friend and @WCKitchen leader Chef @TylerFlorence giving us a report of the situation on the fires in California as him and the team keep cooking and distributing food all around! @WCKitchen #ChefsForCalifornia pic.twitter.com/HRmn7ZM9sw
— José Andrés (@chefjoseandres) October 27, 2019
Chef and cookbook author Tyler Florence also joined the efforts—on October 27, he provided a video update from the fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, where “just under 1,000 people” were at the shelter. He was cooking a pot of Thai green curry filled with vegetables and chicken, which was served over rice for lunch. (A vegetarian option was available as well.) Later that day, he tweeted from his own account that World Central Kitchen had served just under 6,000 meals at the fairgrounds.
In response to the Tick Fire in Santa Clarita, which started on October 24, World Central Kitchen tweeted on October 26 that they were providing fresh meals for residents at Red Cross shelters—The Los Angeles Times reported Monday morning that the fire was 78 percent contained, and over 4,600 acres had burned.
The Getty Fire is the latest to break out, starting as a brush fire in Los Angeles near the Getty Center around 1:30 am Monday morning. World Central Kitchen hasn’t provided any on-the-scenes coverage or updates from the fire yet, but the account retweeted a map of evacuation orders from Los Angeles County.
As firefighters get a handle on the #TickFire in Southern California, we are providing fresh meals to residents at Red Cross shelters as they prepare to return home after more evacuations have been lifted. This is at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita! #ChefsForCalifornia pic.twitter.com/i7LjLvahrT
— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) October 27, 2019
For evacuation orders and the latest information on the #GettyFire, please visit https://t.co/Fu6YK3nv6q pic.twitter.com/nX7JVvq2Mg
— Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) October 28, 2019
If you’d like to help with the relief efforts, there are a few different options. Florence tweeted that interested volunteers could DM him—kitchen experience is preferable, but “if you have a strong back and can handle a knife, we’ll take you,” he wrote.
You can also sign up to volunteer in Northern California, although World Central Kitchen noted that "the situation is rapidly changing" via Twitter, and donations can be given through World Central Kitchen’s site.