Direct Relief delivered 50,000 3M N95 respirators to the San Bernardino County OES at the San Bernardino Emergency Operation Center on Friday. The respirators were requested for first responders and the community dealing with the Line and Bridge wildfires. San Bernardino County OES will be sharing these respirators with Los Angeles County. Credit: Direct Relief photo

This week Santa Barbara-based disaster and emergency response organization Direct Relief delivered 50,000 N95 masks to assist those impacted by the Bridge Fire and Line Fire in greater Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. The San Bernardino Office of Emergency Services is distributing the 3M donated masks to those impacted by hazardous air quality conditions due to wildfire smoke in the region.

In response to the three wildfires burning in Southern California, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. As of this writing, the Bridge Fire, which is currently the largest of the trio, is 11% contained, the Line Fire is 42% contained, and the Airport Fire is 31% contained.

The total acreage burned so far this year in all California wildfires exceeds the 5-year average, year to date: about 994,000 acres compared to the 903,000 acres average. One person has been killed by wildfires this year in California and 1,656 structures have been damaged or destroyed.