Wildfires are again burning in multiple Northern California counties. Sadly, it’s an all too familiar occurrence for many of the communities Sutter Health is privileged to serve.

I want to thank the thousands of firefighters and additional emergency personnel who are responding to these blazes—especially the physicians, nurses and staff across Sutter’s integrated network. Our teams have been on the front lines caring for patients since the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and now they are simultaneously helping support their communities during these fires.

We are closely monitoring the progress of the fires, as well as the resulting poor air quality, and their impact on our care sites. As always, the safety of our patients and staff is our top priority. We will work to keep our communities informed during this evolving situation.

Sutter is also committed to supporting our staff who may have been evacuated or otherwise impacted by the wildfires. We are checking in with our team members and activating employee resources like emergency financial assistance.

As we have done throughout the ongoing pandemic and in past wildfires, we will use the breadth of our integrated network to move resources around our care sites to where they are needed most to help our communities and patients in Northern California.