The Eaton Fire was Ten Months Ago. This Nonprofit is Still Providing Relief.

When the Eaton Fire hit on January 7th, 2025, the Pasadena and Altadena communities reeled from its impact. Over twenty-four days, thousands of buildings and acres burned before the fire was fully contained. It is estimated that over 100,000 people were displaced. 

In a previous article, I covered the impact of the Eaton Fires on Sequoyah students, highlighting the ways Sequoyahns could offer support during such turbulent times. Indeed, many students and faculty alike contributed to the fire relief efforts, whether it be through donating funds, clothing items, or food. A notable contribution from students Gracie Underwood ’26 and Griffin McLemore ’26 was organizing a fundraiser to provide schoolchildren with essential school supplies.

That was early 2025. It has been ten months since then, and already the Eaton Fire has faded into the background. Many in the Pasadena/Altadena community have stopped volunteering. But not everyone. 

Medical Mission Adventures (MMA), a fully licensed 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has been providing free medical, dental, optical, and mental health clinics to those affected by the Eaton Fire. As of November 2025, they have held 49 clinics. In fact, they were recently highlighted by KCAL news for their outstanding services. Most of the volunteers for these clinics consist of licensed medical/dental/optical/mental health professionals, but there are a few opportunities for students as well, among them assisting with discharging patients. 

Evelyn Wong, M.D., is the Executive and Medical Director for MMA. Wong lived about five miles away from the burn zone of the Eaton Fire and was put on evacuation watch. She commented, “In the past, when I'm preparing to respond to disaster, I'm usually just thinking about the disaster. But this time, I was split, because I had to think about both my own well-being and others.” For Wong, responding to this disaster was more difficult than prior disasters due to her own proximity to the blaze. “All the stuff that I tell people, ‘this is what you need, clothes, medications…your passport and your homeowners insurance, all those things—I had to think about that for myself as well.” 

MMA set up its first clinic on January 8th, only one day after the beginning of the fires. Wong explained that “[MMA was] invited by the city to do that… it wasn't until the 10th of January when other medical facilities came in.” So between the 8th and the 10th, MMA worked with the LA County Department of Public Health to help care for the people who were evacuated to the Pasadena Convention Center. “Because there was such a great number of nursing homes and assisted living facilities that were evacuated, there were a lot of people to take care of,” Wong said. 

One of the reasons why MMA was able to scale from smaller medical clinics to treating thousands of people at the Pasadena Convention Center was because of Byron Wang, the IT manager for MMA. Wang had to evacuate due to the fires, and upon returning to his house, he recalled, “I felt a really strong desire, as a lot of people did, to help and to find a way where I could help… Once I found out that [MMA] was providing free clinics to people affected by the fires, I went to volunteer as best as I could.” It just so happened that MMA needed help with IT, and Wang has occupied that role ever since, coming to every one of the forty-nine clinics MMA has hosted since then. 

Forty-nine clinics are a lot, and Wang acknowledged that, saying, “I think the rest of folks, rightfully so, have moved on, right? Pasadena, Altadena, [and] Palisades are not really in their minds.” When asked why he kept volunteering, Wang explained, “I can’t forget that there are thousands of people who've lost their homes and who are struggling with insurance, struggling with basic needs, feeling lonely or depressed or losing hope. I am compelled because this is our neighborhood. This is where we live. If there are people in need, we try to help meet those needs as best as we can.” 

MMA is a 100% volunteer-based organization, and many of those volunteers have to commute several hours to attend every clinic. Xochitl Flores, PA-C and the Director of Operations for MMA, is one of them. Although she lives over ninety miles away from LA, she still makes the commute to every clinic MMA has hosted. When asked what drove her to make the commute, Flores said, “We have a community of like-minded individuals that want to give back to the community, and that's something that I really enjoy working with.” 

Another reason why Flores is so consistent is that “One of the goals for MMA is to not only respond to the fire immediately, like many organizations do, but to be part of the long-term recovery.” MMA wanted to provide not only fire relief but also fire recovery. Originally, MMA only provided medical, dental, and optical services, but “one of the ways we provided fire recovery,” Flores explained, “was that we developed a wellness, mental health program where our goal is to provide wellness… through trauma-informed therapy.” One of MMA’s goals for fire recovery was to get victims into a state of wellness after such a traumatic event.

Tobi Nishikawa, LMFT, is the current director of Mental Health for MMA. Nishikawa has been working with MMA for three years, initially as a regular volunteer before being promoted to her current position. Nishikawa explained that “[MMA] was offered a grant to have long-term recovery mental health services… beyond their periodic mobile clinics.” Nishikawa was then asked to help build that service, which led to her receiving her current position. 

Nishikawa also commented on whether MMA was considering offering even more services, stating that, “Right now, we're… under the medical realm, but I know she [Wong] wants to be even more holistic, like a gym for physical fitness and things like that.” Despite already offering four different types of services, MMA may soon offer physical therapy as a fifth option. Physical therapy could be another powerful way of supporting fire recovery efforts for victims.

One of the biggest difficulties MMA has faced is the entire concept of “free” medical services.

Flores noted that when potential attendees see the word “free,” “they think it's… a ‘ghetto’ clinic.” Essentially, people are unsure if the clinics are actually safe or reliable. Once they actually enter the clinic, however, Flores explained, “they get to feel… love and quality services with quality equipment, and that they matter as a patient and as an individual.” 

If any Sequoyahn is interested in volunteering at MMA and contributing to the Eaton Fire recovery period, the process has never been easier. MMA just launched its Volunteer Matters portal, where it's very easy for one to create an account and see what opportunities are available to serve alongside MMA. A link to their portal is right here. 

Volunteering at MMA also opens up an opportunity to shadow professional medical personnel, so if students have even a slight interest in becoming a doctor, dentist, optometrist, or therapist, then this could be a great chance to observe what they actually do.

MMA is driven by a commitment to provide relief to those impacted by natural disasters. “We see the incredible need for health care,” Wong declared, “and we want to alleviate some of the suffering. If we have the ability and the drive to do so, we're going to do it; we'll make a way.”