Harris visits Palisades relief center, sidesteps questions on potential governor run

Former Vice President Kamala Harris toured a wildfire evacuation relief center in Westwood on Feb. 6. The Westwood Recreation Center, with operations facilitated by the American Red Cross, has been a touch point for evacuees of the Palisades fire. There, dormitories and even the racquetball courts are serving as shelter for families, and the center is also being used to distribute food, water and other resources for those affected. As of Feb. 12, approximately 45 people were still sheltering at the facility.

“So many of the survivors of these crises feel alone and just need to have a safe place to go, where they are treated with dignity and a sense of community,” Harris said. “They [need to] have a place to go where a perfect stranger sees them as a neighbor, sees them as someone who is worthy of their attention and their care and their love. And so that is happening at this facility.”

Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, 3rd District, welcomed Harris, heralding the former presidential candidate’s efforts in disaster relief.

“I cannot thank our vice president enough for her leadership, for her heart and compassion,” Horvath said. “She has been consistently checking in and wanted to personally visit.”

Harris praised Horvath’s leadership during the crisis.

“I’ve seen your work up close in terms of how you respond to your constituents with a sense of urgency and a deep commitment to their well-being. And we are lucky to have you serving here in Los Angeles,” Harris said.

The American Red Cross program manager Mary Simkins said that the Westwood center will remain open as long as it is necessary.

“The timeline for Red Cross emergency congregate sheltering is determined by the needs of the individuals and families we serve,” Simkins said. “Red Cross Shelter Resident Transition specialists continue to work side by side with households in emergency shelters to identify the next step in their recovery. We are seeing a steady decrease in the shelter population as residents move into more stable housing solutions. We expect this trend to continue as we work with our partners to help each household find their next step.”

Simkins added that she had witnessed the spirit of Los Angeles through her work at the facility.

“[It] is seen every day in neighbors helping neighbors recover following January’s devastating wildfires,” she said. “As the American Red Cross walks alongside the disaster impacted communities in Los Angeles, we continue to serve our mission to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies.”

Harris said that she would be involved no matter what title she held.

“I am here and would be here regardless of the office I hold, because it is the right thing to do, which is to show up in your community and thank the folks who are on the ground doing the hard work,” she said.

Upon returning to California on Jan. 20, Harris’ first stops were a relief center and fire station in Altadena. She lives with her husband, former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, in Brentwood. Their home was under evacuation orders during the Palisades fire, but the structure was spared.

Harris touched on climate change and the need to adapt to the frequency with which natural disasters have occurred.

“Here in California … we no longer talk about wildfire season. Any month of the year we are likely to see these wildfires occur and the damage that they cause, which means we must also look forward in a way that we are building up resources and priorities around not only responding after an extreme weather occurrence, but what we can do to build up resilience and adaptation to these extreme weather events,” she said.

There has been much speculation as to what Harris’s next steps might be in her political career. However, she is not prepared to give a definite answer on whether or not she will run for governor or another office again.

“I have been home for two weeks and three days,” she chuckled. “My plans are to be in touch with my community, to be in touch with the leaders and figure out what I can do to support them and, most importantly, to lift up the folks who are surviving this extraordinary crisis, and do what I can do to offer any assistance.”

Prior to visiting the evacuation center, Harris also toured the Pacific Palisades to assess the damage.

“I would encourage everyone, when you run into a Red Cross volunteer, when you run into a firefighter, when you run into a local elected leader, thank them, because they’re doing incredible work. They’re working around the clock,” she said.