Santa Anita steps up to help Los Angeles wildfire relief effort

The donation center at Santa Anita Park established last Thursday because of the Los Angeles County fires will remain open for pickups and drop-offs until Friday at 9 p.m. Since opening in Santa Anita’s 750,000 square-foot south parking lot more than 100,000 people have donated or picked up needed supplies for the fire relief effort.

While the donation center is winding down, Santa Anita plans to continue its relief efforts for those affected by the wildfires. Santa Anita’s north lot will remain as a Southern California Edison “laydown yard” for another three to four weeks, according to track officials. The north lot, which measures over 1 million square feet, has served as a staging area for vehicles and materials as Southern California Edison works to restore power to some 380,000 homes in the area. In addition, Edison is using another of Santa Anita’s parking lots to store crew trucks.

“Many of our employees, horsemen and racing patrons have lost everything,” said Pete Siberell, director of community service and special projects for Santa Anita. “We want to provide as much of our space, staff and resources that we can to those in need during what will be a long recovery.”

Santa Anita also has received requests from other organizations, including FEMA contractors and local schools, seeking space at the track and other resources to aid in the ongoing recovery effort.

“Santa Anita hopes to continue its service to wildfire victims in the weeks and months to follow,” Siberell said.

Since its opening, the donation center at Santa Anita has received and distributed an array of supplies, including non-perishable food items, toiletries, hygiene items, clothing, shoes, pet food, diapers, cellular service.

After racing was canceled last week because of the fires, Santa Anita will host five-straight days of live racing starting Thursday and ending with a special Martin Luther King Jr. holiday card on Monday.