When we picture the wildfires’ blazing path of death, destruction and displacement through greater Los Angeles, kidney dialysis patients probably aren’t the first victims we think of.
But aid workers on the ground, like Seth Lasry, know that the effect of the flames reaches far beyond the circles most of us imagine.
In his brand-new role as California Regional Officer of Israel-based SmartAID, Lasry learned that a dialysis clinic was experiencing frequent power cuts as a result of the wind-whipped wildfire. And dialysis machines can’t run without electricity.
“We brought a battery and solar panel set to the clinic, and now they have some certainty that they can see their patients, who would die without dialysis,” Lasry tells ISRAEL21c. SmartAID also brought energy packs to home dialysis patients.
SmartAID is a non-profit international humanitarian organization that installs targeted technologies and hardware to help disaster-stricken communities access electricity, Internet, and telecommunication during the recovery period.
Energy, water, supplies
On January 9, we reported that SmartAID was deploying in southern California.
The team, which is constantly growing, includes four who flew from Israel along with locals such as Lasry, who lives in the unaffected suburb of Burbank.
“From day one of the wildfires, there was no hesitation when we decided to dispatch our team to LA,” says SmartAID founder and CEO Shachar Zahavi. He will join the team this week.
“Witnessing the wildfire’s impact on our friends, colleagues, families and communities, we knew we had to be there immediately.”
SmartAID is focusing its efforts on providing affected Southern Californians with clean energy, clean water and Wi-Fi/Internet (for individuals to stay connected and for first responders to coordinate their missions) as well as improving supply-chain coordination and distribution of goods. The organization also is setting up a technological coordination hub.

All this is made possible by donors and contributing nonprofit and corporate partners, some of which include the Footprint Project, New Use Energy, Amazon, Tesla, SpaceX, Schneider Electric, Target, Overdrive Energy Solutions, New Sun Road, SOLARPUNKS, Sunrun “and many more amazing family foundations and people,” Zahavi says.
“We have many locals asking to join us,” he added, noting the generosity of the LA community and their appreciation for Israelis coming to their aid.
“It’s something that always makes me proud –that people know that even if it’s on the other side of the world, we will always be there to help. We also have Israelis living in the USA who joined. We see Israelis as global nomads and Israel as part of the interconnected world,” Zahavi says.
Empowering
Indeed, confirms Lasry, “Everyone wanted to volunteer.”
A real-estate agent in everyday life, Lasry found his way to SmartAID through a family connection in Israel who knew Zahavi.

As one of the first SmartAID personnel on the scene, Lasry first visited every evacuation shelter and distribution center in LA and reported his findings to SmartAID.
“Since then, we’ve set up some initiatives and we have 15 to 25 volunteers on the docket. Some people have only a few hours to commit, so they rotate in and out.”
Lasry explains that providing solar panels and batteries to search-and-rescue teams and first responders is the organization’s top priority.

This task is not as simple as it may sound. National Guard barricades set up for safety make entry into many affected areas difficult.
Lasry and his team have lifted 135-pound batteries over the barricades to get them to first responders and housebound individuals. SmartAID is now working with the National Guard to get official escorts that will make this task easier.
SmartAID and its partners also have installed mobile solar microgrids to power the critical operations of police and firefighter command centers.

In addition, donated Starlink telecommunications units of various sizes, donated by the SpaceX subsidiary, give SmartAID the ability to enable whole neighborhoods to be in touch with loved ones outside of LA.

What it looks like
Lasry has heard from seasoned humanitarian aid workers that the wildfire crisis in Southern California is an unusual disaster.
“When it started out, the winds were really bad. Everywhere in LA, there were palm trees and debris in the streets. Everyone you looked, the sky was filled with smoke. After a couple of days, that subsided. Now, for the most part, a lot of LA is just business as usual, oddly enough,” he says.
“But on the other hand, the many people who cannot leave their houses because of looters are still very, very much in need and very much still in a disaster situation.”
Lasry has found that “everyone is enthusiastic” to work with SmartAID to get more items distributed.
“So many people I talk to feel a need to help out instead of sitting here and watching it unfold. And I learned that working with SmartAID and managing these projects allows me to make the biggest impact that I could have in this situation.”
They’ll be there a long time
Lasry expects to continue this humanitarian work for months.
“We’re just starting,” he says.
“When I first visited evacuation and distribution centers, the managers were turning away volunteers and donations because the first couple of days there was just so much being offered.
“As time goes on and crisis fatigue sets in, and the media move on to the next thing, that kind of support understandably will not be there. So the need for volunteers and supplies may not go away for months.”
Zahavi agrees.
“As fires continue to pose threats to lives and expand evacuation zones due to strong winds, we remain committed to assisting devastated communities, local first responders and grassroots charity partners,” he says.
“Supporting others in their time of need not only provides essential aid but also instills a profound sense of purpose and community in everyone involved—from the affected communities to the volunteers, partners and donors.”
For more information on SmartAID’s wildfire response in Southern California, click here.