Sag Harbor boutique hosts clothing drive for Los Angeles wildfire victims

An East End boutique overflowed Sunday with new and gently used clothing and shoes. But the items weren’t for sale.

Mindi Smith, owner of The Little Red Planet in Sag Harbor, was collecting donations for victims of the wildfires that continued to tear across Los Angeles and surrounding areas. At least 24 people have died, with more than 12,000 structures either destroyed or damaged as of Sunday evening.

"My heart is shattered for all the families that are completely at a loss," Smith told Newsday.

Smith, who has friends, colleagues and customers in Los Angeles, said she nearly opened a store in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, where the wildfires have destroyed or damaged blocks of homes and laid waste to some of the city's most beloved ocean-view hiking trails.

At Smith's boutique Sunday, volunteers sorted donated clothing by age group to make for a seamless distribution process in Southern California. Smith is using donated moving boxes from Zino Movers to pack the goods and load them into a moving truck beginning Monday. She is collecting financial donations for the cost of the move, which she said will run about $5,000.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the tragedy could become the nation’s costliest natural disaster, with early estimates of damage and economic loss ranging from $135 billion to $150 billion.

"It feels very far away. Here you’ve got snow on the ground and there you’ve got an inferno," said Huw Davies, a Sag Harbor resident who brought donations to Smith’s shop Sunday. When Davies saw how many donations came in, he stayed to help Smith organize clothes before Monday’s shipment.

Michael Sainato came by from neighboring East Hampton after his wife saw Smith’s post on Instagram. He grew up in Southern California and attended the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena. That's about 8 miles south of where the Eaton Fire was 27% contained Sunday, according to California state fire officials.

Twelve people were missing within the Eaton Fire zone and four were missing from the Palisades Fire, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Sunday. There are no children among those reported missing, he said.

"The rebuilding process is unimaginable ... Just whole neighborhoods, whole towns wiped out," Sainato said.

For Long Islanders looking to join Smith’s effort, she’s hoping to host another clothing drive soon.

Separately, in New York City, all proceeds from a Thursday comedy show at The Stand in lower Manhattan will go to the American Red Cross for fire relief efforts. Tickets are available on the comedy club's website. The club is donating a portion of proceeds from other shows throughout this month as well.

The steak catering company Porterhouse Party, also in lower Manhattan, is hosting a fundraiser Thursday to support the Los Angeles Fire Department.

With James Carbone, Andrew Ehinger and AP