Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai emphasized unity among employees as devastating wildfires sweep Southern California. Pichai discussed in an email recently a Google initiative to support wildfire relief efforts.
These are the worst wildfires to sweep through Los Angeles, deep into the heart of the American film industry. The homes of celebrities-considered some of the most opulent properties in the world-have gone up in flames, affecting famous landmarks recognized worldwide.
Google.org is the company’s philanthropic arm, which actively contributes to relief and recovery efforts through financial contributions and an employee matching campaign. In a statement, Google shared, “Our thoughts are with the people and communities impacted by the greater Los Angeles wildfires. We have been working closely with local authorities to ensure that accurate and up-to-date information is available through our products and services.”
Residents in the affected areas can get critical resources such as SOS alerts, public alerts, and boundaries of the wildfires through Search and Maps. The company has also provided road closure information on Google Maps and Waze; the latter also shows the location of emergency shelters. These alerts continue to be updated to make sure critical safety information is conveyed from reliable sources.
The size of the fires has simply overwhelmed the firefighting forces: at least six separate blazes, three still entirely out of control, are burning across Los Angeles County.
As the situation continued to deteriorate, the Los Angeles Fire Department ordered the evacuation of all residents from Hollywood Boulevard to Mulholland Drive and from the 101 Freeway to Laurel Canyon Boulevard-in film, television, and music, some of the most iconic names. The Hollywood Sign looms in the distance, accentuating the urgency of the situation.
On the west side of the city, the Palisades fire razed 15,832 acres or 6,406 hectares and hundreds of structures in hills between Santa Monica and Malibu, racing down Topanga Canyon until it reached the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday.
