LA Communities Contend with Evacuation, Destruction

As devastating fires swept through Los Angeles County, shluchim stepped up to support affected communities, coordinating evacuations, delivering kosher meals, and providing shelter. While some fires have been contained, Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon Chabad temporarily relocated students as a precaution.

By Motti Wilhelm – Chabad.org

In the wake of the devastating Palisades Fire, which has already consumed over 1,000 structures—including the home of at least one Chabad rabbi—three additional major fires erupted across Los Angeles County, with two blazes breaking out within city limits. Driven by intense Santa Ana winds and rapidly changing weather conditions, these raging fires have placed millions of residents under high alert.

Aside from the speed at which the fires have advanced, the current conflagration is unique for its mammoth scale and the areas which its various parts threaten. While the Hollywood Hills have come under fire threat before, this is the first time such flames have ever threatened Los Angeles’ significant Jewish community, for example the densely populated Fairfax district and Hancock Park neighborhood, home to numerous synagogues and Jewish institutions. Dozens of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries and their communities are coordinating emergency responses while monitoring evacuation orders in these historically Jewish areas.

Faced with the advancing fires, portions of the Jewish community have received mandatory evacuation orders, while others have been voluntarily evacuating their homes as thick smoke blankets neighborhoods and conditions deteriorate. Traffic-choked streets fill with evacuating residents as social media channels buzz with real-time updates and desperate requests for information about affected areas. Families are grappling with difficult decisions about whether to remain in their homes or seek refuge in safer locations, weighing factors like air quality, proximity to the fires, and the challenges of finding temporary accommodation.

Three miles north of Fairfax, in the Mt. Olympus neighborhood of the Hollywood Hills, Chabad emissaries Rabbi Sholom and Rochela Rodal were facing challenges even before the fire became a threat.

“Up here on the mountain, we are accustomed to frequent power outages and have learned to adapt,” says Rabbi Rodal. “When we lost power on Tuesday night due to the high winds, we simply continued our programs, including holding a Torah class by candlelight, while working to restore electricity.”

The situation took a turn the following day when the Rodals’ phones began lighting up with urgent calls from worried friends and family members, warning them about the fire’s dangerous proximity to their area. The gravity of the situation became clear when mandatory evacuation orders arrived shortly after.

“It all happened very quickly. We immediately sprang into action, contacting every community member we could and assisting several elderly members in evacuating, along with our Torah scrolls,” he says.

The Sunset fire’s advance through the Hollywood Hills brought flames within visible range of Chabad’s premier West Coast educational institution, Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon Chabad. Though not under immediate threat, the yeshiva’s leadership took preemptive action to protect their students.

“Although our location wasn’t under evacuation orders, the fire was just a few miles away,” says Rabbi Mendy Spalter, the yeshiva’s executive director. “With a student body of over 300, we recognized that coordinating transportation during a mandatory evacuation could become extremely difficult. We made the proactive decision to send local students home and relocate our out-of-area students to a safe location away from the fire’s path.”

Most local Jewish elementary schools announced their closure for Thursday, while others, located further from the danger zones, remained open after consulting with relevant authorities.

The situation continued to unfold rapidly throughout Wednesday evening, with uncertainty lingering for hours about whether the fire would spread further or begin to be contained. Even in neighborhoods not under evacuation orders, residents remained vigilant and prepared for sudden changes.

Rabbi Aba Raichik, director of Chabad of Brookside, a neighborhood in Los Angeles not under evacuation orders, stayed home Wednesday night, as did most residents in his area. Nonetheless, he prepared a go-bag and removed the Torahs from his synagogue in case a rapid evacuation became necessary.

“Thankfully, the fire hasn’t spread toward our area, and we don’t need to evacuate,” Raichik tells Chabad.org. “This has allowed us a way to help those in need.” When he learned that many evacuees had arrived at a nearby shelter with few possessions and no food, he took action. Partnering with his brother-in-law, Rabbi Shmuel Gurary of the Chabad Jewish Center of Hancock Park, they delivered dozens of pizzas, pasta, and other kosher meals from a local restaurant to support those seeking refuge.

By Thursday morning, the Sunset Fire had started to be contained, and most evacuation orders in Los Angeles had been lifted. By Thursday afternoon, LA Mayor Karen Bass announced that the fire was “fully contained.”

The Jewish community quickly began returning to its regular rhythms. Yeshiva Ohr Elchonon Chabad reopened its doors for late morning studies, and other schools resumed their normal learning sessions. As residents started returning to their homes, Rabbi Rodal made his way back to his Chabad House on Mt. Olympus, where he immediately resumed his role—supporting both congregants who had returned and those still displaced by the evacuation.

Elsewhere in LA County, the fires continue to rage. As of Thursday afternoon, the human toll had reached at least eight lives lost, while the fires have consumed tens of thousands of acres of land. The crisis remains acute for many Californians, with 179,000 residents still under mandatory evacuation orders.

Chabad rabbis in those regions, with the support of their colleagues from across the state and country, continue to provide material, spiritual, and emotional support, even as the fates of some of their own homes and synagogues remain uncertain.

“I continue to receive offers of help from all over, with people offering whatever they can. There are also the amazing first responders who are risking their lives. We are truly witnessing the best of humanity as we grapple with this incredible crisis,” Rabbi Rodal shares. “We thank G‑d for His kindness in sparing our community from the fire, and we simultaneously pray for those who have been affected, that the fire be fully contained, and that no further loss of life or property occurs.”