Tucson support is outpouring for those affected by the multiple wildfires in Southern California

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - As the wildfires in California continue, Tucson residents with ties to California are also affected. Many in the community have stepped up to help their state neighbors.

Susan Warm lived in Pasadena, California for 30 years before moving to Tucson. Her two adult children and many friends still reside in Southern California. Some of those friends lost their homes in the Palisades and Eaton fires, which are now among the worst wildfires in California history.

Warm shared photos of Altadena with 13 News that she took 10 years ago. After the devastating wildfires that wiped out acres of Los Angeles County, the landscape now looks far different.

“We’ve never seen destruction like this,” Warm said. “It’s sad and it’s going to take a long time to rebuild that.”

While watching news coverage of the fires, she saw one of her former homes burn down.

“[While watching the news] I was like, you see that address street? That’s our old home,” Warm told 13 News. “That block, it looks like a bomb hit it. It just whipped through there, it was completely decimated.”

Wes Foran grew up in Tucson and moved to California several decades ago. Though his home in West Hollywood was spared by the deadly fire, he told 13 News that he’s never seen anything like this before, even after living through the Northridge earthquake of 1994.

“[The Palisades] is just a beautiful part of Los Angeles,” Foran said. “It was just utter shock watching all the news, like this just cannot be happening.”

As a Tucson native, Foran said he is grateful for the outpour of Tucsonan support.

“When Golder Ranch and Northwest Fire [came here], which I’m so familiar with growing up in Tucson, I was like, I know those fire departments,” Foran added. “I felt great, I was really happy to see that.”

Fire crews around the country and the world have come to help California, including the Rio Rico Fire and Medical District.

Tucson’s Veterinary Emergency Group is collecting donations for fire victims and pets, which will be driven to Pasadena at the end of the week.

If you want to drop off donations for victims of the fires and animals affected, you can drop off your donations at VEG, which is at 7080 N Oracle Rd, Tucson, AZ 85704. They are open 24/7.

If you would like to submit monetary donations to the American Red Cross, click here.

Be sure to subscribe to the 13 News YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@13newskold

Copyright 2025 13 News. All rights reserved.

Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.

Three months into a fulfilling yet stressful new job, I was in dire need of a restorative minivacation. So when the chance came to visit Miraval Resort & Spa outside Tucson, Arizona, I gave myself permission to take it, just for me. I was not disappointed: After three days, I returned home with an open heart, a more supple and integrated body, and renewed motivation to remain grounded and balanced as I reentered my hectic lifestyle.

See also12 Yoga-Friendly Resorts for Your Next Vacation

My transformation unfolded through a series of bodywork appointments, meditations, spa treatments, and fun yoga, including a yoga hike and a surprisingly accessible aerial yoga class. I’d been apprehensive, thinking using the aerial silks meant doing circus tricks, but instead the cloth supported my shoulders in poses I normally have trouble with, such as Camel and Warrior III. I also had access to Miraval’s signature juice drinks and healthy portions of delicious low-calorie food throughout the day, and at night a bed that felt like sleeping on a cloud.

See also Stress-Less Travel Survival Kit for Yogis

But although I loved everything I did, three Miraval experiences are the reason I’ll return. First, my doshas were balanced by an Ultimate Ayurvedic spa treatment that began with abhyanga—a warm-oil massage to release toxins and improve circulation—and ended with soothing Shirodhara therapy, in which heated oil poured over my forehead relaxed and balanced the nervous system. Next came a life-changing Tibetan Chakra Balancing session with master practitioner Pamela Lancaster, who immediately sensed and communicated a key emotional puzzle piece that had been missing in my life. To ground, cleanse, and balance my energy points, she used healing sounds and vibrations from Tibetan bowls and symphonic gongs. Finally, a hot-stone massage offered a similar missing puzzle piece, this time for my body: I learned steps to correct imbalances following a foot injury. As my visit came to an end, I felt sad to leave but energized and eager to jump back into my life at home.

See alsoSelf-Care Tip: How to Give Yourself an All-Natural Ayurvedic Facial

Plan Your Trip

More Tucson must-dos:

Pop-Cycle, a local favorite store selling upcycled goods, stocks a revolving stash of repurposed merchandise, ranging from jewelry to wall art. Or, check out the clothing store Fed by Threads, where sales of each animal-free, American-made garment fund 12 emergency meals to the hungry.

Borderlands Brewing Company offers beer made mostly with local ingredients. Currently on tap: Ol’ Loco IPA, Prickly Pear Wheat, and Noche Dulce. Or, relax with high-quality tea at Seven Cups.

Sample the Tucson yoga vibe at The Yoga Tree, a cute adobe building where you’ll get a discount when you bring along a friend; take a $6 drop-in class on a cork floor at Tucson Yoga; or, for as low as $5 a class, check out Yoga Oasis, named best studio by Tucson Weekly.

Try our five favorite nourishing juice combos from Miraval

TUCSON, Ariz. (KVOA) — It's almost that time of the year. Get ready for the City of Tucson to be busier than usual, as the 2025 Tucson Gem Show is rolling into town.

The 2025 Tucson Gem show is getting set up as we speak.

It will not be long until the Old Pueblo is filled with precious gems and fossils.

"We can confirm 52 shows for the winter, gem, mineral and fossil showcase matching the record that was set in 2020," said Jane Roxbury from Visit Tucson.

The gem, mineral and fossil showcase is just one of the many stops you can make as part of this year's show.

Visit Tucson says they've learned a lot through an economic study about the thousands that come to the Old Pueblo for this annual event.

"We measured 42 states and 42 countries represented," Roxbury said.

That includes the show owners, the vendors and the buyers.

"And there are people here looking for rocks, minerals, fossils the items that started it all, the miners are here. The folks who dug them up, the collectors, the sellers," Roxbury said.

And all of those people have to eat while they're here. Peggy Starr works at Café 54 in downtown Tucson.

"We generally see a slight increase in business. We get a lot of friendly out of town people they want to know more about what we do here," Starr said.

Which means there's always someone behind the cash register.

"You can definitely tell there's more people downtown during the gem show so I'm assuming it's helping everybody," Starr said.

And gone are the days when you can only buy gems during this one time of the year.

"There are dozens of warehouses that are permanent gem and mineral structures in the mineral and fossil district, they're open year round," Roxbury said.

The Tucson gem show begins January 18, 2025 and will last through February 16, 2025.

For more information on the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society, click here.

For more information on the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Shows, click here.

For a one stop shop of all the shows going on, click here.