Americans began fleeing their homes and businesses this week wildfires in California raged and decimated entire communities in five provinces.
Firefighters, law enforcement and citizens are working together to contain the fires, while local shelters and organizations food and supplies and providing a roof for those seeking refuge as thousands of people lose their homes.
“It’s like a ghost town in a lot of these communities,” Matthew Barnett, founder of the LA Dream Center, told Fox News Digital in an on-camera interview. (See the video at the top of this article.)
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: ESSENTIAL TELEPHONE NUMBERS FOR LOS ANGELES RESIDENTS AND HOW TO HELP THEM
“We’re just trying to provide any type of solution. Financial is obviously important because of housing,” he said.
The LA Dream Center is a resource center for California residents seeking shelter and those in need of recovery assistance and food. The organization is a cornerstone of free programs for communities around the world.
Cars are left charred at a dealership in the aftermath of the Eaton fire on Friday, January 10, 2025 in Altadena, California. (Jae C. Hong/AP)
“You instantly achieve 20% more growth on your campus. That’s a lot in a city like Los Angeles,” he said. “It’s so expensive to turn on the utilities and everything.”
Thirty years ago, Barnett planned to do just that serve as a pastor for a few months before quickly falling in love with Los Angeles and deciding to stay indefinitely to open the Dream Center.
“We thought that in a city like Los Angeles, which is known as a 24/7 city, why not have a place in the heart of Los Angeles, where the broken pieces of dreams would really be picked up, and those who hurt have and struggle,” Barnett said.
Located on US Route 101, the Dream Center opened in 1996 after the building was purchased from the Catholic Church for $3.9 million.
“They could have sold it to Paramount Studios for $16 million,” Barnett said.
Flames from the Palisades Fire burn a building on Sunset Boulevard amid a powerful storm on January 8, 2025 in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. Fueled by intense Santa Ana winds, the Palisades Fire has grown to more than 15,000 acres and 30,000 people have been ordered to evacuate as a second major blaze burns near Eaton Canyon in Altadena. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
The fifteen-story building was a film location for eight years. It now houses 700 inhabitants, inclusive homeless veteransincluding emancipated minors and families on a daily basis.
LA FIRE RAISES ALARM ABOUT BUDGET CUTS AFFECTING RESPONSE TO WILDFIRE: MEMO
“It’s open 24 hours a day for anyone in need,” Barnett said.
Today, the Dream Center serves private rooms, food, supplies and other necessities to locals California residents needing help as firefighters struggle to control the flames.
This satellite image from Maxar Technologies shows the Eaton fire on Wednesday, January 8, 2025 in Altadena, California. (Maxar Technologies via AP)
Australian chef Wolfgang Puck delivered 2,000 meals on Friday afternoon.
“He said, ‘When are you going to serve them?’ and I said, ‘What about now?'” Barnett said.
“And so we just threw them on the front lines.”
“This is COVID times 10,” Barnett said of the relief efforts.
Barnett added that the generous food donation would only last two hours before running out.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER
“Then someone else will step up, and we will put him or her on the front lines and a new restaurant will emerge,” Barnett said.
“It’s just miracle after miracle. It’s a miracle when you need it, it always seems to show up. If you make yourself hurt people, God has a way of providing all these incredible outlets that are happening. It happens like this.”
A view of smoke blanketing the sky from a wildfire in Eaton in Altadena, Los Angeles County, California, on January 9, 2025. A fast-moving wildfire has forced 30,000 people to evacuate, with officials warning that worsening winds could further fuel the fire to escalate. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Amid the dangerous wildfires, the Dream Center and its 250 daily volunteers load trucks with supplies to deliver to affected areas and operate food lines 10 hours a day.
“This is COVID times 10,” Barnett said of the relief efforts.
“I’m not home,” Barnett said. “I am currently away from home and staying in my office, so I am really serving the displaced and helping other displaced people.”
For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle
“We’re kind of here as if we don’t know the future of our own home that’s just a few blocks from the fire and yet serves our own pain,” Barnett said of his family, including dogs.
‘Serving from our own struggle.’
Celebrities like Snoop Dogg, Florence Pugh, Billie Eilish, Jojo Siwa and King Bach are among the others who have thrown their support behind the Dream Center; they have shared posts on social media, gaining even more attention and volunteer work.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“These are people we’ve never met, but they’re people looking for ways to do good,” Barnett said.
The Dream Center collects online and in-person donations of food and non-perishables, baby supplies, clothing, water and financial donations.
