California Planned Parenthood Burns to the Ground in Three-Alarm Fire
By Cassandra MacDonald Aug. 17, 2023
The El Centro Planned Parenthood was reportedly on fire in the early morning hours on Tuesday, at approximately 2 a.m.
The clinic provided abortions to residents of Arizona, where it is banned after 15 weeks.
It took fire crews approximately three hours to put out the blaze.
According to a report from The Intercept, the fire began in a pile of items donated to the Salvation Army, which shares a fence line with the clinic.
“El Centro Police and Fire Dispatch responded to a fire reported at a storage yard behind the Salvation Army near Fourth Street and Ross Avenue at 1:51 a.m.,” KPBS reports. “Fire officials say the fire crossed to the adjacent Planned Parenthood Imperial Valley Homan Health Center building and a third alarm was requested at 2:01 a.m.”
No patients or staff were in the building, and no injuries were reported.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is assisting the El Centro Fire Department in investigating the cause of the fire.
“This health center has always been a beacon for access to quality and compassionate sexual and reproductive health in a medically underserved area, and served as a safe haven for people traveling from other states to access the vital care they needed and couldn’t receive elsewhere. The impact of this loss will be felt throughout the community and beyond,” said Darrah DiGiorgio Johnson, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest.
Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider.
Patients of the burned clinic are being referred to Planned Parenthood’s in other counties, except for those seeking sex change treatments, which are being provided through telehealth.