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07/22/2026 | News release | Distributed by Public on 07/22/2026 01:28

Amazon opens first Canada Disaster Relief hub and bolsters California hub to support wildfire relief efforts

Update: This story was originally published on August 22, 2024. It was updated on July 22, 2026, to reflect the opening of the wildfire disaster relief hub in Canada.

Key takeaways

  • Amazon has opened its first disaster relief hub in Canada to support a growing wildfire season.
  • Amazon has quintupled capacity at its California hub this year in anticipation of a strong El Niño season.
  • Amazon now operates 12 Disaster Relief hubs across seven countries, enabling donated supplies to reach front-line nonprofits within hours of a disaster.
Amazon will open its first disaster relief hub in Canada-a wildfire relief hub in Edmonton, Alberta, that will be stocked with specialized supplies to donate and deliver to nonprofits at the center of wildfire responses.
Canada's wildfire season is starting earlier, lasting longer, and becoming harder to contain. One recent season burned about 40.8 million acres, which is nearly seven times the country's historical average. This summer, hundreds of wildfires are burning in Canada, displacing Canadians from home and causing widespread health risks as smoke drifts across multiple provinces and U.S. states.

How Amazon's Disaster Relief hubs help communities when every minute counts

Amazon donates and delivers emergency supplies to American Red Cross and other partners from our Disaster Relief hubs after disasters strike. Here's how our hubs work.

Amazon's new hub, located at an existing Amazon fulfillment center, will stock more than 180,000 emergency supplies once it's fully operational this fall. More than half of the stock will be specialized for wildfire responses, such as sifters to find belongings in ashes, heavy-duty gloves, heavy-duty boots, air purifiers, and masks.
The Canada hub is Amazon's second facility dedicated to wildfire relief. Amazon opened its first wildfire hub in California's San Bernardino Valley in 2024, just months before devastating wildfires erupted across Los Angeles and Southern California.
Lessons from that response and El Niño forecasts inspired Amazon to quintuple the California hub's capacity this year, stocking thousands more masks, air purifiers, and general relief items such as diapers, toiletries, and hygiene supplies. Both hubs contain general relief items to help communities deal with a wide range of natural disasters, from floods to tornadoes to earthquakes.
"Wildfires don't wait-and neither do we," said Abe Diaz, Amazon's head of disaster relief. "El Niño drives temperatures higher, drying out vegetation and turning landscapes into fuel. Wildfires surge dramatically during these cycles, and the risk extends well beyond the western U.S. Our expansion in California and Canada means we'll be prepared on both sides of the border and can put resources in the hands of first responders in hours, not days."

Amazon to provide 2,000 free rapid response technology systems that restore critical services in minutes

Each system is portable enough for one person to carry and set up, now scaling 50x ahead of hurricane season.

Why pre-positioning wildfire supplies saves lives

The United Nations projects a 14% increase in extreme wildfires by 2030 due to climate change. Having dedicated facilities where relief items are ready to be shipped allows Amazon to send help within hours.
Specialized equipment at the hubs can cost thousands of dollars for nonprofits to purchase on their own, plus the cost of storage and shipping. Amazon covers all of these costs as part of its disaster relief program.
With hubs in both California and Alberta, Amazon can now reach wildfire-prone communities across North America faster than ever.
In partnership with organizations that serve wildfire-impacted communities, Amazon uses data and feedback to determine what supplies each hub needs most. These partnerships include American Red Cross, After the Fire, COPE Preparedness, and Los Angeles Emergency Preparedness Foundation in the U.S., as well as Team Rubicon Canada and the Canadian Red Cross in Canada.
"During a wildfire event, fulfilling hard-to-source product needs within a tight timeline, sufficient quantity, and cost-effective manner presents a challenge for both local and international relief organizations," said Abby Browning, chief of private sector and NGO coordination, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services. "Amazon's commitment to mobilize its global inventory, logistics infrastructure, and vast network as a force for distributing donated supplies helps community partners focus their resources and personnel on supporting on-the-ground response efforts."
The hub enables faster relief after disasters and supports nonprofits. During the 2025 wildfires in southern California, Amazon volunteers donated and delivered a variety of emergency products, including wildfire safety gear, water, shelf-stable food, and toiletries.
The California wildfire relief hub was a critical part of Amazon's response to the devastating L.A. wildfires in 2025, which included $10 million for relief, the distribution of more than 500,000 relief supplies to 29 organizations, and the deployment of cloud technology and drone support to emergency responders. In 2025, the hub also supported communities inwestern Alaska after a powerful typhoon swept entire towns into the ocean, in addition to communities in Hawaii and Venezuela, when floods and earthquakes caused widespread losses and destruction.
Amazon now operates 12 Disaster Relief hubs across seven countries. Since 2017, Amazon has donated and delivered more than 30 million relief items in response to more than 200 disasters worldwide, including actively supporting wildfire-impacted communities in Chile, Colombia, and Maui.

How Amazon's rapid response technology systems help communities recover faster

The systems are produced for local first responders to use in the aftermath of disasters, designed to be as simple as flipping a light switch.

In addition to donating relief items, Amazon shares its advanced technology to help community partners assess fire damage, monitor new hot spots, track emerging fires, and use aerial surveillance to create maps that aid in decision-making and preventive response efforts. We also distribute lifesaving rapid response technology systems at no cost to nonprofits to restore cellphone access, power medical devices, deliver potable water, and more when disasters knock out traditional systems.
Next, learn more about Amazon's disaster relief efforts.
Amazon.com Inc. published this content on July 22, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on July 22, 2026 at 07:29 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]