By Ray Birch
LOS ANGELES—The wildfires raging across Los Angeles County, driven by 100-mile-per-hour winds, have one credit union on edge and worried about its staff and members.
Los Angeles Police FCU spoke with CUToday.info about the wildfires that have burned more than 2,000 structures, killing at least five people.
Matt Dalton, vice president of marketing and business development at LAPFCU, termed the blazes some of the most concerning in years, and the hurricane-force winds are the primary reason. The fires, reports have stated, can grow from non-existent to out of control within a matter of minutes.
“The winds have been really brutal. The fires…they are a very rapidly evolving situation we're trying to stay on top of,” Dalton said Wednesday afternoon. “They're expanding and new ones keep cropping up. So, we just have to stay abreast of what's happening and adjust as necessary. We haven’t had an event like this in a few years, so this is not entirely unprecedented—except for these winds…I've been in Southern California all my life and I've never seen winds like this before. The fires are just growing very, very rapidly. I think most are at 0% containment.”
Dalton said the CU’s branches are currently safe, being fairly well protected inside Los Angeles city limits. The fires are largely in the canyon and hill areas of this region.
“We had a small fire pop up near our headquarters, but the fire department was able to knock it down pretty quickly,” he said.
46,000 Members
Dalton emphasized the $1.4-billion credit union’s main concern is for people.
“We have 46,000 members and about 160 employees,” he said. “A lot of our staff have either had to evacuate or they're on standby to evacuate. At this point I don't think we have concerns about the fires reaching the branches themselves—we're more concerned about our associates, who may live in those fire areas. We want to make sure they're safe. Of course, we have members who are on the front lines, working with the local fire departments to get residents evacuated.
“They're working around the clock and I'm sure they are very tired,” continued Dalton. “We’re thanking them through the various channels we have—branches, social media…When they come into our offices we have refreshments for them.”
LAPFCU is also letting members know it’s ready to assist with a loan or line of credit.
“We take a look at their individual needs and work with them,” Dalton said. “Driving is a consideration now in Southern California. There are road closures, downed trees and power lines, and things like that. We're also telling any of our associates who can work from home to do so.”
California & Nevada Leagues Update
The California & Nevada Credit Union Leagues outlined CUs that have been affected by the fires:
- First City – Evacuated, closed, several staff also evacuated
- California Credit Union – Not currently impacted, possible staff evacuated from homes
- Glendale Area Schools – Closed down due to evacuations and power outage
- Pasadena FCU – Headquarters is good, many staff evacuated
- LA Federal – Headquarters is good, many staff evacuated
- Caltech Employees FCU – Mandatory evacuation, headquarters closed, some staff evacuated
- Technicolor FCU – Headquarters not impacted but staff evacuated
- Foothill CU – Headquarters is closed, several staff and volunteers evacuated
- LA Financial – Lost power and closed Pasadena branch, several employees evacuated
The leagues stated they are closely communicating with their credit unions and have provided several resources.