Empowered by Light, a non-profit organization focused on renewable energy, has partnered with Enphase Energy, a global energy management technology company, to provide solar generators for communities recently affected by the Los Angeles fire and firefighting assault teams deployed from the Bay Area to help extinguish devastating fires.

These two Bay Area based organizations are distributing 25 Enphase IQ PowerPack 1500s, a portable solar generator with portable solar modules that can be used to charge phones, laptops, radios, lighting, and other small critical devices. More than a dozen solar generators were deployed to the firefighting assault team, providing power to firefighters' radios and mobile phones. Six solar generators have also been distributed to the World Central Kitchen to provide infrastructure support for community centers in low-income communities without electricity. These devices will provide power for lighting and offer free local power for charging mobile phones and other small personal devices.

These solar generators will provide much-needed energy and help firefighters and others get rid of diesel generators - which have always been the preferred power source during natural disasters, "said Moira Hanes, Executive Director of Empowered by Light. This effort will help break the negative feedback loop between environmental disasters and fossil fuel based responses

Captain Richard Bert, a retired member of the Las Vegas Fire Rescue Team and founder of solar energy and fire education, is helping coordinate the deployment of these devices. He said, "These devices will provide renewable energy and critical communication for frontline assault team firefighters working in areas without or with limited electricity