Beyond the Flames: Mental Health Workers Support Evacuees Amid Pasadena Wildfires

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PASADENA, Calif. — The day after the Eaton Fire broke out, Fernando Ramirez, a community outreach worker with the Pasadena Public Health Department, witnessed the destruction: thick smoke, falling ash, and residents desperately trying to save their homes.

“I saw people on their roofs, watering down their homes. They looked so hopeless,” said Ramirez, who later volunteered a 14-hour shift at the city’s evacuation center, offering support to over a thousand evacuees.

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Health departments like Ramirez’s have become crucial in disaster responses, especially during extreme weather events linked to climate change. Mental health professionals are now deployed alongside firefighters to address the emotional toll of such disasters, which can lead to anxiety, PTSD, and depression.

“The immediate need is often to reduce anxiety and provide comfort,” said Lisa Wong, director of the LA County Department of Mental Health. “We reassure evacuees they’re not alone and that recovery is possible.”

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In the wake of the fire, the Pasadena Convention Center became an evacuation site, offering shelter to displaced residents as the fires burned more than 64 square miles. Wong’s team, trained to support evacuees without retraumatizing them, helped ensure that people’s emotional needs were met in addition to their physical ones.

Ramirez, who also helps evacuees search for missing loved ones, described the difficult emotional burden of his work. “I go into fight mode during the crisis,” he said. “But once the immediate danger passes, that’s when the trauma hits.”