• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, January 15, 2025

Google and YouTube are among the technology companies based in California donating to help Los Angeles recover from the wildfires that have caused devastation across the state.

Google and YouTube, together with the philanthropic arm of Google.org, contributed $15 million to L.A.-area relief organizations. The tech companies join many other organizations that have given money such as Snap, Disney, Paramount, Comcast and NBCUniversal, Amazon, Netflix and more. 

“Los Angeles is the heart of entertainment and storytelling and has an impact on culture all over the world,” YouTube CEO Neal Mohan wrote in a blog post Wednesday. “It’s also where many YouTube creators, artists, partners and our employees call home. Like so many, we’ve been heartbroken by the devastation from the wildfires and want to do our part to support the community as it rebuilds.”

Mohan explained in the post that YouTube will offer production facilities to support creators and artists impacted by the fires as they begin to rebuild their businesses when it's safe to reopen its L.A. offices.

"On the long road ahead, we’ll continue to support recovery and rebuilding efforts alongside our partners across the industry," Mohan wrote. "In moments like these, we see the power of communities coming together to support each other - and the strength and resilience of the YouTube community is like no other."

California leads the nation in regulatory restrictions, as the figure shows. These include restrictions on human use of water, which impaired firefighting ability, according to the Mercatus Center for policy research.

It has been well reported by numerous Los Angeles-based publishers like the Los Angeles Times that California legislation has been blamed for the loss of life and property fueled by dry water hydrants and an empty reservoir. The fires exposed vulnerabilities in city water supply systems that had not been updated or built for wildfires of this scale despite residents voting years ago to update the system. 

An abundance of rain at the end of 2024 allowed wild vegetation to flourish around the Pacific Palisades, but city officials did not cut back the growth before it had a chance to dry out and became food for one of the driest winter seasons. It was driven by powerful winds that forced officials to temporarily ground water-dropping aircraft and the fire spread.