Wildfires: Resources for Educators

The following resources offer multilingual safety tips and updates related to wildfires and smoke. This page is part of our natural disaster guide, Natural Disaster Resources for Schools: Partnering with Multilingual Families.
News and updates: Southern California Wildfires
- Coping with Trauma and Stress in the Face of Wildfires: Tips for Early Childhood Professionals (Zero to Three)
- After fires, LA students yearn to get back to school, and a normal life (NPR)
- Parents and caregivers notice kids processing LA fires through make-believe (NPR)
- As schools start recovery from fires, parents wait on answers to many questions (LAist)
- For childcare providers, wildfires are just one more crisis (LAist)
- Kids struggling in LA as wildfires contiue to cause widespread school closures (NPR)
- An Altadena school community digs out from the ashes and wonders what’s next (Chalkbeat)
- As Wildfires Devastate Los Angeles, Educators Offer Help and Refuge (Education Week)
- The air is bad, the staff is displaced. Schools stay closed Friday as fires burn around Los Angeles (LAist)
- Fires close more than 1,000 schools in Los Angeles, 9 schools destroyed or heavily damaged (EdSource)
- Classroom Resource: Wildfires Devastate Los Angeles (PBS NewsHour Classroom)
- Classroom Resources: California Wildfires (ShareMyLesson)
How you can help
- How to help those affected by fires raging across Los Angeles County (Los Angeles Times)
- Greater Los Angeles Education Foundation creates Wildfire Recovery Fund (EdSource)
- YA Author Launches Book Donation Campaign for LA Educators & Students (School Library Journal)
- How to Help Those Impacted by California Wildfires (School Library Journal)
- World Central Kitchen: California Wildfires
Tips for families
- What parents should know about wildfire air quality, ash, and protecting kids (LAist)
- How to Talk to Kids About the Fires (Psychology Today)
- How to talk to kids about the Los Angeles fires (CBS News)
- Beloved toys and stuffed animals are gone. How parents can help kids understand L.A. fires (Los Angeles Times)
Tips for schools
- How Schools Can Partner with ELL Families During Natural Disasters: Learn how schools can partner with multilingual families when preparing for and responding to natural disasters that impact the local community.
- How to Support Multilingual Families Displaced by a Natural Disaster: Learn how schools can support multilingual families who have been displaced by a natural disaster in another city or country.
Resources by Topic
Wildfires: Safety information
- Guidance for Staying Safe: Wildfires & Smoke in Multiple Languages (Oregon Health Authority)
- What You Should Know About Wildfires: Bilingual Information (National Child Traumatic Stress Network)
- Wildfire Safety (National Fire Protection Association)
- Wildfire Information (Ready.gov)