We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving the needs of our local community. We are providing food and shelter to those in need during the California Catastrophic Flood. We are committed to making a positive impact on the lives of those around us. By supporting Opulent Philanthropy Inc., you are supporting your community and helping to build a brighter future for all.

California, Disaster Relief Fund: We have provided shelter and over a million meals during these disasters.

Every contribution, big or small, will bring much-needed assistance to families 

struggling in the aftermath of this disaster.

Here's how your donation can help:
$25 Dollars can provide much needed water to families.

$100 can provide a care package with essential supplies for families in need.
$250 can help ensure a family displaced by the fire has access to food and shelter
$1,000 can help ensure a family displaced by the fire has long term access to food and shelter. 

Reminder: Employees submit match request for monetary donations.
If your employer requires an Employer Identification Number (EIN) 45-3088713

A final round of heavy rain is drenching California Friday and threatening to bring more flooding and debris flows after a days-long deadly siege of storms.

The waves of storms have killed at least four people in California since last weekend. The Christmas holiday storms have forced evacuations and more than 100 rescues, with some alerts still in place until Friday afternoon across parts of Southern California.

Another 1 to 3 inches of rain is expected Friday on top of the months’ worth that has already fallen. That’s less than in recent days, but the already saturated ground can’t take much more, and a Level 2 of 4 risk for flooding rain has been issued for more than 18 million people in Southern California by the Weather Prediction Center.

 The rain and heavy snow in the mountains should wrap up by Saturday, but there’s still one more active day ahead. 

Homes encased in mud: Flooding, mud and debris flowed into Wrightwood Wednesday, a community in the San Gabriel Mountains about 80 miles northeast of Los Angeles, encasing homes and cars in feet of mud. Some residents had to be rescued from inundated cars and by helicopter from the roofs of homes, officials told CNN. A child suffered minor injuries, but no other injuries or fatalities have been reported. Evacuation warnings were lifted Friday evening, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Dept. said, but warned “many affected areas still have significant damage.”

Deadly storm: At least four people have died in California since the storms began last weekend. Nineteen-year Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office veteran James Caravallo died while driving to work Wednesday after losing control on a wet roadway and crashing into a power pole, the state highway patrol said. A 61-year-old San Diego man also died Wednesday when high winds from the storm toppled a tree onto him. The victim’s daughter-in-law, who spoke with CNN affiliate KFMB but asked not to be named, described him as an “elderly, loving man” who “was always helping his family.” Two other deaths were reported in Northern California.

Evacuation orders extended in LA: Los Angeles County extended evacuation orders for a few hundred specific homes deemed most at risk in burn scar areas until 1 p.m. Friday with more rain moving across the area. Many chose not to leave ahead of the storms, according to the Los Angeles Police Chief.

Rescues continue in Los Angeles County: A helicopter crew with the Los Angeles City Fire Department rescued a woman swept downstream in a rapidly flowing wash in the Arleta neighborhood Friday morning. During the previous days of flooding, the Los Angeles County Fire Department reported rescuing “over 100 people,” according to a Thursday Facebook post.

Feet of mountain snow: Feet of additional snow is expected in the Sierra Nevada Friday and feet of it have already fallen after a slow start to the vital snowpack in the state. Major travel impacts are expected for anyone attempting to navigate the mountain range, according to the Winter Storm Severity Index.

Avalanche in eastern Sierra: An avalanche injured two ski patrollers around 7:30 a.m. PT Friday on Lincoln Mountain in the eastern Sierra Nevada, according to the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area resort. “One patroller sustained serious injuries” and is being taken out of the area for further care and the second may have broken bones, the resort said. The ski area will be closed Friday. Over 5 feet of snow has fallen in the area since Tuesday.

Burgess described seeing mud and water pouring from the homes’ windows. “There was no way for any of the firefighters to get to them on foot,” Burgess told CNN.

The three people rescued were unharmed, Burgess said. While his own home was not affected, he was left without water and internet and the floodwater caused significant damage to the neighborhood’s main road.

Residents in nearby Wrightwood spent Christmas navigating flood‑damaged homes after mud and debris surged through the mountain community, partially burying cars and homes — some nearly to the roof.

 “I can literally walk onto my roof, the second-floor roof, from my backyard,” Misty Cheng told CNN affiliate KABC. She was out of town when the storm hit but came back on Christmas after a neighbor sent her video showing her property rapidly flooding “like a rushing river.” 

Update:  

Just as the Los Angeles fires have uprooted thousands of homeowners, many homeless people who lived in recreational vehicles or beneath underpasses in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena area have similarly been displaced.

Mel Tillekeratne – co-founder and executive director of The Shower of Hope, a nonprofit that provides homeless people in LA County with hygiene services – said that the fires especially affect the unhoused community on multiple levels. While both homeowners and homeless people have had their belongings destroyed, the latter are unlikely to have their valuables insured, and without an address, are unable to receive assistance from the state or federal government.

Smoke affecting the air quality is another issue of concern. People who are outside 24/7 are constantly inhaling dangerous pollutants. Many old homes in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas that burned down contained asbestos and lead, Tillekeratne said, which homeless people are now breathing in. From where he lives in MacArthur Park, he can smell the smoke in his home, even with an air filter on.

Palisades, Eaton wildfires destroyed 11,000 homes. Less than 10% have permits to rebuild. 

Of the thousands of residents needing to rebuild after this year’s California wildfires, Andy Weyman would seem especially well positioned. The TV and stage director had remodeled his Malibu home just five years earlier and had city-approved blueprints in hand, with the same architect set to oversee reconstruction.

Yet eight months after the Palisades fire destroyed almost 600 Malibu houses, the city has issued only two rebuilding permits. Weyman needed geological tests to ensure the stability of his bluff-top lot. Construction costs are roughly double his insurance coverage. In August, his architect died.

“We’re flailing to figure out the solution,” said Weyman, 73. “Every possibility is fraught with downsides and compromises.”

As Southern California nears the heart of wildfire season, rebuilding is merely inching forward in areas hit by the most destructive conflagrations in Los Angeles history.

People trying to restore their homes are grappling with slow permit approvals, high costs and low insurance payouts. Prices for burnt-out lots are coming down as some residents give up on returning.

 Most of the areas charred by January’s blazes are cleared for construction: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has removed 2.6 million tons of debris, more than the volume of the rubble of New York’s World Trade Center. Yet as of Sept. 24, L.A. County approved just 405 construction permits on 1,972 applications in areas it oversees outside of city limits. That includes the burn zone of the Eaton fire, which destroyed more than 6,000 homes and devastated the community of Altadena. 

The Palisades fire burned roughly 5,000 houses. The city of L.A., home to the hard-hit Pacific Palisades district, approved 620 permits for 1,564 rebuilding applications as of Sept. 24, according to its fire recovery website. 

Some residents say the process is still being dragged out. Rich Wilken, 78, put off retirement as an architect after losing his Pacific Palisades home of 47 years, and agreed to design 10 new houses in the burn area for himself and friends. But he says the effort has been dogged by a changing cast of inspectors at L.A.’s building department who offer conflicting opinions on his plans, requiring resubmissions that take time and money. 

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