Amazon opens its first wildfire disaster relief hub in the U.S.

As climate change accelerates the frequency and intensity of wildfires worldwide, Amazon is enhancing its disaster relief capabilities in the communities where we operate.

Amazon has opened our first Disaster Relief Hub designated for wildfire relief efforts. Located in our fulfillment center in Southern California within the San Bernardino Valley, the Hub will enable Amazon to swiftly deploy critical relief supplies to communities affected by wildfires across the U.S.

Amazon Wildfire Relief Hub: Amazon-donated humanitarian goods stacked on warehouse shelves

“Prepositioning relief supplies is crucial for delivering aid quickly during fast-moving wildfire events,” said Alice Shobe, global director of Amazon Community Impact. “This Hub’s strategic location near Amazon Air facilities and our ground transportation network ensures that we can efficiently get relief items to disaster response organizations that have a proven ability to receive and distribute these donations to impacted communities.”

The United Nations projects a 14% increase in extreme wildfires by 2030 due to climate change. Having a dedicated facility where these items are ready to be shipped allows Amazon to send help in less than 72 hours, much faster than if teams had to pack and consolidate the products from different facilities across the country.

With the help of relief organizations working in wildfire-impacted regions, including American Red Cross, Good 360, After The Fire, and All Hands All Heart, we leveraged our data and their forecasts to stock the Hub with products that households and individuals need as they return to their communities after a fire. The more than 6,000 stored items include wildfire mitigation equipment such as axes, goggles, masks, rakes, shovels, smoke pumps, and soil sifters; and personal supplies including fire-safe rubber boots, high-particulate matter filtration respirators, hydration packets, neck gaiters, specialized gloves, trauma kits, and more.

“During a wildfire event, fulfilling hard-to-source product needs within a tight timeline, sufficient quantity and cost-effective manner presents a challenge for both local and international relief organizations,” said Abby Browning, chief of Private Sector and NGO Coordination, California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. “Amazon’s commitment to mobilize its global inventory, logistics infrastructure and vast network as a force for distributing donated supplies helps community partners focus their resources and personnel on supporting on-the-ground response efforts.”

Amazon Wildfire Relief Hub: humanitarian goods and supplies

Amazon now operates 14 Disaster Relief Hubs globally, including our first European hub in Germany, which launched earlier this year. Since 2017, Amazon Disaster Relief and Response has donated over 24 million relief items to support more than 160 disasters worldwide, including actively supporting wildfire-impacted communities in Chile, Colombia, and Maui. In addition to deploying relief items, our AWS Disaster Response team has leveraged advanced technology to help community partners assess fire damage, monitor new hot spots, track emerging fires, and use aerial surveillance to create maps that aid in decision-making and preventative response efforts.