Rebuilding LA: Examples of Resiliency

Pam Sornson, JD on May 6, 2025

Most likely, the vast majority of victims of the LA wildfires are experiencing their first true ‘catastrophe.’ The scope and extent of the damage done throughout the region are unprecedented, leaving survivors with little or no individual guidance on how to move forward. Even with all the supports provided by local, state, and federal resources, entities – both corporate and human – must still make sense of the unique specifics of their damages and strategize their next steps based on what their needs are and will be. In many cases, the experiences of previous disaster victims can provide invaluable lessons and insights to help those who have lost their homes, businesses, or both.

Lessons from the Past = Plans for the Future

‘Recovery,’ in this instance, refers as much to the community as it does to the individual. Not only were thousands of homes and hundreds of businesses lost to the fires, but local and regional industrial sectors also suffered losses and disruptions. However, both individuals and companies are seeking inspiration and guidance by studying the recovery efforts deployed in other communities. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on one’s perspective), there are many examples available to help shine a light on both challenges and solutions.

Early Recovery Stage: Lahaina, Hawaii

Less than 2 years ago (August 2023), Lahaina, Hawaii, was almost wiped off the map altogether because of a devasting fire that demolished over 2,200 structures and leveled more than 2,100 acres. More than 100 people died in the fire, and so far, losses total over $5.5 billion.
Since the conflagration was contained, the city, county, and state have worked to restore as many services and systems as possible, following a protocol that focuses on the resources that are most critical to public health and welfare:

• Lahaina’s sewer system was severely damaged by the fires, raising the threat of contamination by unmanaged toxins released into the environment. After two years of dedicated effort, the town’s sewer system finally achieved 100% restoration as of April 2025. In total, more than 3,500 real property lots have been reconnected to the sewer infrastructure that was severely damaged by the fire. In addition to the sewer lines, the disaster affected three wastewater stations and the sole wastewater reclamation facility. As a bonus, the rebuild effort also included adding new sewer services to neighborhoods that had previously relied on leach fields and septic systems.

• The housing recovery is also ongoing. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, is now transferring residents from its long-term housing sites to short-term rentals managed by local agencies. At the same time, the number of building permits filed for new construction indicates that landowners are rebuilding. As of April 2025, 383 permits were issued, with another 301 pending approval. Other FEMA-affiliated assistance measures include groups of modular homes erected on private land – “Alternative Transportable Temporary Housing Units” – to add more habitable space while more permanent structures are built.

While these developments are promising, other challenges encountered in the reconstruction industries have revealed several factors that are preventing a swifter recovery. These concerns are almost certainly impacting the LA region, too:

• Difficult geography – Maui’s geography is posing problems. East and West Maui are 2.5 hours apart and have distinctly different cultures and populations. Pursuing recovery solutions that satisfy both sides is proving to be difficult.
• Economic disparities – Socio-economic divides are also problematic. Low-income residents must contend with decisions made by wealthy non-residents, off-island tourists, and the vacation-rental-owning populations.
• Political differences – Politics, in particular, are getting in the way of recovery-focused efforts. Native Islanders are at cross purposes with wealthy non-native residents in terms of what assets should be recovered, neighborhoods versus resorts, as an example.
• Out-dated zoning laws – Perhaps most significantly, the bickering among residents and agencies is impeding a much-needed overhaul of the state’s zoning laws. Pre-fire zoning restrictions adversely affect virtually every aspect of the rebuilding effort, including water-use rules, environmental protections, and utility ordinances for electricity, plumbing, and road grading processes. Older homes, multifamily dwellings, and historically significant buildings are subject to even more stringent permitting procedures.

All of these factors can be helpful learning tools for any community struggling to recover from any size disaster.

Mid-Recovery Stage: Paradise, California

In 2018, wildfires consumed 95% of the little town of Paradise, located just 12 miles from Chico and 90 miles north of Sacramento. The disaster was, at the time, the deadliest wildfire in California’s history, taking 85 lives while destroying 18,000 buildings (14,000 of which were homes) and scorching more than 153,000 acres. For 17 days, the country watched as the town burned and its residents were forced to flee.

In the intervening six years, progress has been slow but steady in recovering from the flames and rebuilding the municipality.

• It took nine months to remove the debris piles and hazardous materials that littered the streets.
• In the first two years after the disaster, more than 400 new homes were built, including the neighbor-friendly Joylands Candy Shop. That little element of community underscored how dedicated Paradise residents were to staying in place and rebuilding their homes.
• At the five-year mark, more than 3,000 homes and several schools had been rebuilt, and miles of roads were repaved. The building/recovery boom was sufficiently swift to attract returning and new residents, making Paradise the fastest-growing town in the country for the past four years.

More recently, Paradise has focused on protections against future disasters. Its ‘Prepared Paradise’ strategy sets out a step-by-step plan to ensure residents and businesses have the best possible opportunity to survive another disaster:

• Power restoration efforts mandate that all lines be buried underground to eliminate a recurrence of the cause of the 2018 blaze: downed electrical lines.
• The town’s ‘Wildfire Prepared Home‘ strategy mandates vegetation restrictions that prohibit planting too close to walls and buildings. It also requires using ‘ignition resistant’ materials in all aspects of any rebuild project, including ember and flame-resistant vents, and non-combustible fencing and roofing.
• Paradise has also enhanced its early warning system to include 21 new siren towers, five of which are already in play. The new public safety assets are both fire-resistant and satellite-capable. At the same time, while they are hard-wired underground to the electrical grid, they can also default to battery or solar power sources as backups.

For survivors of the LA fires, these examples provide guidance on next steps and ‘best practices’ for recovery. Those who follow them will be able to begin their recovery journey knowing that they are making the best decisions possible for a safer future.

 

Considering Risk: Rebuilding with Confidence

Pam Sornson, JD on April 13, 2025

Historical evidence suggests that LA’s January fires were a predictable outcome of decades of risk mismanagement. Some of the areas that burned are also those that commanded the highest price per square foot. Their proximity to still-raw canyon wilderness and stunning westward and ocean views skyrocketed their value while hampering the effort to make the necessary changes to protect them from fire hazards.

The values intrinsic to those properties also explain the popularity of the communities in which they sit. Not only will people pay top dollar to purchase them, but they’ll also rebuild in the exact location despite the clearly demonstrated escalated risk of loss to ‘natural’ disasters. Homeowners in the affected neighborhoods have been rebuilding on the same sites in Malibu, for example, since at least the 1930s, even though those homes have been decimated by fire at least eight times during that era. Further, if this trend continues unabated, then the communities that have just gone up in flames will again be rebuilt, either by their current owners or by new buyers, only to be lost again under similar circumstances. People remain eager to reap that particularly enticing and very ‘LA’ asset: a view of the Pacific from atop a Beverly Hill.

However, while the risk of loss (to fire, mudslides, and other crises peculiar to the region) remains high, the affected real estate also offers a lifestyle or market sector second to none. Should they choose, current or new owners can mitigate their risk level as they rebuild by embedding resilient design strategies into their redevelopment process. Embracing these strategies requires ferreting out as-yet unseen hazards and removing the blind spots that shield from view the threats that are inherent to these locations.

Seeing the Unseeable – Five Steps to Disaster Resilience

Whether the rebuild project is domestic or commercial, the mandate to fully evaluate potential hazards remains the same. These five steps offer a roadmap through the threat assessment process and provide parameters to clarify and establish protective resiliency strategies:

1. Clarify the extent and context of already-known risks to establish a baseline for their expansion. Whether rebuilding a commercial site or a personal home, knowing how existing risks currently impact the four metrics set out below can inform the emerging risk management process:

a. The physical location often suggests fundamental risk management practices. The potential to experience losses due to fires, floods, thefts, etc., is frequently well calculated by insurance agencies and actuaries.
b. Economic realities and potential losses are often clearly defined and potentially mitigated through contractual terms and appropriate financial management practices.
c. Environmental and social contexts also inform where, when, and how risks might arise. These concerns refer to internal cultural and human activities in companies, communities, and families that may give rise to escalated risks of loss due to human activity.
d. Knowing who is making the risk management decisions for the region is as important as what decisions are being made. Identifying the current ‘governance’ of management authorities will clarify who needs to know what and when the crisis finally hits.

2. Clarify a timeline – Risks often emerge in a cyclical pattern. The rainy season suggests flooding potential, for example; certain building materials are expected to erode and fail within a known time. Establishing a calendar that identifies the details and occurrence periods of known liabilities facilitates an early planning period to reduce or eliminate the threats they pose.

3. Collect and evaluate relevant data. As noted above, it is likely that at least some of the Malibu rebuilders were not aware that the acreages they purchased were at risk of total loss caused by fire. Today’s advanced technologies can provide accurate and detailed data about past events and experiences. Predictive analytics can also elaborate on that data to suggest how future similar events might unfold, and what property owners might do to manage them.

4. These first three steps help to build the fourth: an ‘asset/liability matrix’ of the subject property and/or project. Home or business owners who’ve worked through these principles are now informed about the strengths and weaknesses of their project and can build those realities into their plan of action.

5. Anticipate and plan to mitigate future risks. In addition to alleviating apparent threats posed by fire to real and personal property, LA’s fire-affected property owners can also now extrapolate beyond these known quantities to identify as-yet-unidentified risks and threats that will likely arise from their new risk-informed perspective.

Seeing the Future: Build on New Knowledge

Disasters typically reveal interdependencies among services and systems where unknown risks come to light either during the event or after the crisis moment has passed. Weather-related events, for example, often interrupt multiple systems, leaving victims without access to numerous support and safety outlets. People who seek to rebuild should clarify the extent and context of already-known risks to establish a baseline for their expansion. Whether rebuilding a commercial site or a personal home, knowing how existing risks currently impact the four metrics set out below can inform the emerging risk management process:

a. Utility services such as electricity or water are usually the first systems to fail during a weather-related disaster for those within and outside the danger zones. Lack of light and communications connectedness pose risks of injury and loss even without a natural disaster happening nearby.
b. Road systems, too, can contribute to disaster-related chaos by being too narrow to manage the flood of evacuating vehicles or facilitate the passage of rescue trucks.
c. Communications are also often severely hampered during a disaster. Weather-related disasters frequently take out communications towers and power, eliminating access to critical information by both victims and response teams.
d. Post-disaster periods also threaten home and business owners directly impacted by fire or other ‘natural’ disasters:

i. Displaced people who’ve lost their homes often struggle to find temporary housing or shelter while their homes are out of commission. Lack of adequate transportation after the catastrophe can also hamper their efforts to get to safety.
ii. Lack of access to healthcare is also often a byproduct of a natural disaster. Injuries sustained during the crisis may not receive the care they need; ongoing medical conditions may be exacerbated as medication resources dwindle without access to medical personnel.
iii. Post-disaster environmental concerns can also pose significant threats to already ruined properties. In the LA hills, for example, mudslides, landslides, and debris flows typically occur when soils are eroded due to fire, rain, floods, etc.

Thousands of home and business owners have been directly impacted by the 2025 LA wildfires, suffering billions of dollars in damages. Those who are intent on rebuilding on or near their property should note all these existing and potential contingencies as they plan their rebuilding strategy. Doing so will (hopefully) reduce the potential of future similar losses or eliminate those threats altogether.

 

Resilience as a Goal: Rebuilding the LA Region

Pam Sornson, JD on March 29, 2025

Los Angeles is on track to execute the fastest disaster cleanup in history following the devastating wildfires of January 2025. As crews sweep through communities leveled by flames, home and business owners are now looking toward the rebuilding process. They face a myriad of decisions about their next steps: do they sell and move on? Duplicate what was lost? Reimagine their property in a whole new configuration?

For those who elect to stay and rebuild, the choices available are almost limitless for the new construction of a house or commercial site. What should be prioritized, however, is not the design or building specs. Both companies and individuals must escalate their risk management practices to limit or prevent the chance of similar losses in the future. What people need to consider now is their future capacity for resilience in the face of catastrophe.

LA’s Cleanup Efforts

The impact of the billions of dollars invested by the State of California into aid and assistance for the affected neighborhoods is notable. With help from federal agencies, the debris from more than 1,300 properties was removed within the first 80 days. (In contrast, it took over four months to clear 920 properties destroyed by the 2019 Hill and Woolsey fires.)

Support resources for displaced populations have also made a positive contribution to the recovery effort:

• The federal Small Business Administration is overseeing more than $1.8 billion in low-interest loans offered to both homeowners and businesses as they begin their repair or replacement projects. And FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) has provided almost 32,000 people with over $102 million in financial resources to help them through this calamity.
• California has focused on providing interim support for displaced families, including $24.2 million for urgent housing and shelter needs, $21 million for short-term housing, and more than $73 million for ‘Other Needs’ assistance – financial support to cover medical and dental services, property losses, and other costs related to the disaster.
• Data provided by California government agencies reveals that state-based recovery centers have had more than 60,000 visits related to the fires.

By these accounts, it appears likely that the region will be able to achieve ‘near normal’ activities much sooner than initially expected.

However, what that ‘new normal’ will look like is still very much an unknown. The COVID-19 pandemic and past similar natural disasters all offer lessons on how to recover from these immense devastations. New approaches to living and working can now be incorporated into the rebuilding process to address the weaknesses revealed by the fires. The recovery processes following each individual event – a fire, a flood, or other such calamity – provide insight and instruction for those facing these decisions today. Rising to the top of the ‘consideration’ list: how to enhance risk management to facilitate future resilience.

Risk Management Now = Recovery Resilience Later

Perhaps the biggest lesson derived from previous disasters is that they exposed unexpected hazards and vulnerabilities for which there was no contingency planning. Property and financial losses grew exponentially as established ‘disaster recovery’ processes failed to address the actual damages that were occurring. During the pandemic, for example, restaurants that held comprehensive fire and physical loss insurances had no such coverage to protect them when the coronavirus compelled them to close their doors for an extended period (or, in some cases, forever). While that circumstance was unique even from a disaster perspective, it does illustrate that traditional ‘disaster recovery’ efforts are rarely comprehensive of all potential threats.

Applying that lesson to today’s realities indicates that anyone interested in rebuilding their ‘estate’ – personal, corporate, or both – should expand the scope of their ‘recovery parameter’ to incorporate ‘resilience measures ‘ to guard against losses driven by future crises. To do that, they’ll need to revise their present practices and policies to embrace the four elements of resiliency:

• Agility,
• Responsiveness,
• Flexibility, and
• Predictability.

To achieve these attributes, both individuals and businesses can look to emerging tools and operating models that will help develop, embed, and maintain a more resilient enterprise.

Embrace Technology

Not surprisingly, today’s technology – most notably Artificial Intelligence (AI) – provides significant resources to expose currently unseen threats and develop appropriate, crisis-mitigating solutions to the challenges they pose. AI-enabled predictive analytics programming can now ferret through billions of data bits to assess for hidden risks or systemic gaps. The consequent remediation of these threats both reduces the likelihood of actual failure while also improving current and future decision-making procedures.

Rethink the Workforce

For most occupations, workers are hired to perform a single function or set of functions. They are not typically included in the decision-making process, nor are their perspectives considered in the analysis of enterprise success. This mindset is changing. The pandemic, in particular, was instrumental in removing foregone assumptions of employee values as management and staff worked together to address the unique challenges posed by COVID; the emergence of the janitorial staff as ‘essential workers‘ is just one example. Leaders who want their organizations to excel in the future should be open to the creativity and insights provided by their current workforce to capture more value from that resource than was previously acknowledged.

Acknowledge Sustainability as a Business Imperative

Even with California’s strict and precise urban fire prevention codes in place, the LA region was still vulnerable to extensive fire damage, as was demonstrated by January’s events. In some cases, the failure of home- and business owners to adequately protect their property against fire threats actively contributed to their destruction – and that of their neighbors. Data indicates that these lapses in judgment can affect more than the company’s physical plant. Consumers are actively seeking to do business with entities that take longer-term environmental concerns into consideration in their day-to-day operations. These days, they are choosing to engage with enterprises that demonstrate mastery of both social responsibility and sustainability capacities. Further, companies with the most to gain from embracing this eco-friendly strategy will also engage their entire corporate ecosystem, including their partners and supply chains, to ensure that they retain their customers’ loyalty.

Clearing away the debris and detritus of January’s firestorms is the first step in LA’s rebuilding effort. Incorporating enhanced risk management strategies to reduce or eliminate the likelihood of similar catastrophes in the future should be the first element of that rebuilding effort. Entities that successfully adopt resiliency as a fundamental business tenet stand a good chance of thriving through the current community recovery period and surviving whatever threats are posed by the next disaster.

Industrial Resiliency to Mitigate Disaster Loss

Pam Sornson, JD on March 18, 2025

If past disasters are any indication, it will take years for the LA region’s economic and industrial complex to fully recover from the recent wildfires.

• Immediate efforts are aimed at remediating hazardous waste from burned-out buildings so that each site can be cleared and prepared for reconstruction.
• Ancillary activities include enhancing local services and supplies (retail and services businesses) to compensate for the loss to the flames of impacted resources.
• Agency activities include assessing how the disaster has impacted – and will continue to impact – the regional economy. They need to understand how to best distribute existing resources while also strategizing regional ‘best’ next steps.

While the final tally of losses is still unknown, area experts have compiled initial statistics that suggest:

• Property and capital losses will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $76 to $131 billion.
• The regional GDP for the year will contract by ~$4.6 billion (.48%).
• Workers will lose $297 million over the course of the year.

Those are direct impact losses stemming specifically from the destruction of real and corporate properties.

In addition to those depletions, other losses will be felt in ancillary categories:

• Insurance premiums will continue to rise as insurers incorporate higher risks of fire and related disasters emerging from these conflagrations.
• Rental costs are also increasing as displaced homeowners find temporary housing while their property is rebuilt. That extra population puts additional pressure on an already fraught rental housing market, making it even more unaffordable.
• Health issues are also rising due to smoke and particulate matter released by the flames.

In light of the far-reaching concerns presented by the fires and their aftermath, disaster management professionals are suggesting that more resilience measures should be included as the region rebuilds. In addition to making real property development more fire-resistant, these experts are now discussing the significance of ‘industry resilience.’ Industry resilience embeds into corporate sites and cultures practices that help to mitigate damages and losses from predictable threats such as wildfires, storms, floods, and the like. As climate change advances and environmental disruptions become more likely and more destructive, the resilient business will be prepared to withstand those pressures and recover more quickly and succinctly afterward.

Industry Resilience as a Concept

This emerging consideration – industrial resilience – is defined by the World Bank as “the ability of firms, industrial parks, and manufacturing sectors to increase competitiveness by minimizing losses and damages and by achieving continuity and growth in the face of more frequent and intensifying disasters.” It embraces the reality that businesses and industrial sectors face the same escalating risks of loss due to climate and other social changes just as surely as their human resources do. The COVID-19 pandemic, hurricane and tropical storm flooding, fires, and even political upheavals that recharacterize whole countries have all had an immeasurable impact on how the world functions. Those businesses that survive these shake-ups are the ones that have intentionally built into their practices strategies that will maintain (as much as possible) their security and continuity through difficult times. Their preparations take into account disaster-borne situations that cause supply lines to falter, regulations to fail, and critical corporate initiatives to fall by the wayside. The resilient business prioritizes avoiding unnecessary damages or delays during a disaster so it can recover quickly and completely from the mayhem.

From this perspective, many organizations might consider how a disaster of any kind not only poses risks but also generates opportunities for growth and evolution. And, once they recognize the business value of being better prepared ‘next time,’ they can begin exploring where their vulnerabilities lie and how they can reduce those risk exposures while they have the time and resources to do so. Further, not only would a resiliency upgrade ward off at least a percentage of future losses caused by destructive forces, but some analysts believe it also offers enhanced competitiveness before, during, and after disaster strikes.

Industry Resilience as a Competitive Measure

Enhancing organizational resiliency requires both insight and investment:

• Insight to understand where risks lie and what needs doing to mitigate them and
• Investment of time, financial, and human capital so that business continuity planning (BCP) includes responding to and recovering from disaster-created damages.

Insights:

The World Bank report offers (on page 31) ‘co-benefits’ as a correlate to disaster damages. Co-benefits emerge during both the resiliency planning/development/building stages and the post-disaster recovery phase as each element of each step is thoroughly vetted for its impact on the enterprise. Co-benefits can include social, economic, and environmental aspects that come into existence either as adjuncts to a protective factor or as happy coincidences as activities demonstrate the success of the resiliency measures.

For example, resilient industrial buildings not only protect businesses and people in non-disaster times, but they can also protect communities. When designed with resilience in mind, revamped business sites can offer several benefits to their neighbors, including shelters from climate challenges, barriers to environmental catastrophes (preventing mudflows, i.e., that caused additional damage after LA’s fires receded), and revenue streams by allowing the company to remain operational.

Investments:

Investments in industrial resiliency span all aspects of ‘doing business.’

• Infrastructure – The corporate ‘infrastructure’ isn’t just its physical plant; infrastructure also includes its technology and human resources, supply chains, business partners, and community relations.
• Policy – Investments in both civic and corporate policies are also necessary to sustain competitiveness before, during, and after a disaster. Industrial resilience policies can streamline processes such as permitting, licensing, etc., as well as raise awareness of mitigation practices that can affect the whole community.
• Finance – Disaster risk financing tools add buffers and padding to current accounts to avoid cost overruns and ensure access to funding when catastrophes occur. Policies explicitly dedicated to disaster management reduce reliance on operations funding and fuel a faster recovery when disaster strikes.

Analysis of decades of disasters – floods, hurricanes, fires, and even earthquakes – teaches how to sustain resiliency and recovery options in good times to protect from unnecessary damages in bad. Climate change is driving ever more violent storms, wildfires, and floods. Companies that implement resiliency and recovery strategies well before calamity hits are better poised to survive the crisis, reduce the opportunity for unnecessary losses, and speed their recovery time. Industrial resiliency is the new strategy for any business located anywhere near a potential disaster zone, which, these days, is anywhere on Earth.

 

LA Wildfires – Disaster Recovery Begins

Pam Sornson, JD on March 2, 2025

The flames have been quelled in the LA region, but new challenges are arising in the aftermath of its recent wildfire disasters. The data reveal only a glimpse of the enormous obstacles faced by those directly impacted by the blazes (a total of 16,251 structures were lost) while also suggesting the sizable nature of the impediments to recovery the community now faces. Fortunately, resources are available to assist in strategizing a long-term recovery plan and provide immediate guidance and assistance to those in the most urgent need of both.

Immediate Relief Services for Individuals and Families

All relevant governments – state, regional, and local – are involved in providing recovery resources based on their particular suite of resources and jurisdictions. In March, the following agencies have set deadlines for access to the services they are offering:

• The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is available with financial assistance to victims of the fires through March 10, 2025, at one of its two local locations:
• 10850 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064 and
• 540 W. Woodbury Road, Altadena, CA, 91001.
• Small businesses have until March 12 to seek general business relief and physical property damages from the LA County Small Business Relief Fund. Explore loan options here.
• Wildfire debris removal assistance is available through March 31 through the Army Corps of Engineers or government-approved contractors. Interested parties can either set up entry permits or opt out of the opportunity (see below for more information).

Next Steps for Home and Business Owners

Damage Assessment, Debris Removal, and Site Safety

The thousands of properties destroyed by the fire must be cleared of hazardous materials such as paints, oils, batteries, and pesticides, among others, before non-hazardous items can be hauled away. Property owners can opt to receive help for this process or they can do it themselves. In either case, the EPA must inspect the site and approve the hazard removal result before it becomes eligible for Phase Two: General Debris Removal. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is assisting with this effort. Owners can also get help with potential mudflows that often happen when natural barriers and streambeds are destroyed.

The Rebuilding Process

State and local governments have joined together to reduce or eliminate the existing red tape and regulations that would typically impede the rebuilding process. Instead, City, County, and State leaders are expediting permit access so those who are ready to start the rebuilding effort can move forward as quickly as possible. Permitting resources are available based on the location of the property:

• The City of LA
• Pasadena
• Malibu
• Sierra Madre

Additionally, One-Stop Permit Centers hosted by Los Angeles County offer permitting information and support for the region’s unincorporated areas. These sites bring together resources from the departments of Public Health, Regional Planning, Geotechnical Engineering, and Public Works to ensure property owners get the comprehensive assistance they need.

Long-term Recovery Strategies for Communities

While each individual property owner attends to their immediate rebuilding needs, whole communities are also in the process of developing a rebuilding strategy. Taking notes from previous similar catastrophes that wiped out the towns of Paradise, CA, in 2018 and Lahaina, HI, in 2023, leaders are now developing plans that will focus on the three elements of a recovery strategy:

• Assess the disaster’s impact on the community infrastructure;
• Design responses to the challenges arising from that infrastructural damage, and
• Generate recovery projects that both resolve the immediate incapacities while also building in resiliencies that will protect from or defend against future disasters.

Paradise, CA

The small town of Paradise, CA, offers a real-world example of how to manage a community-wide disaster recovery effort. In 2019, residents gathered to discuss not just what needed doing to repair and rebuild the loss of a significant percentage of its resources, but also to formulate improvements over past practices that would benefit the town in the long run. The small population based its Long-Term Recovery Plan on five tenets that would set the foundation for future growth by making it:

1. Safer – by adding prevention attributes combined with emergency preparedness and early warning systems;
2. Stronger – by redirecting utilities underground to protect essential services;
3. Better – by incorporating more communal spaces to foster community and economic growth;
4. Greener – by investing in environmentally safe and stable materials for rebuilding purposes and
5. More Welcoming – by ensuring the inclusion of affordable and sustainable housing, businesses, and public works.

The final version of the plan was in place by 2022, and the 2024/2025 Recovery Action Plan Report revealed numerous successes. Examples include:

• All 21 Early Warning towers were installed and operational by June 30, 2024.
• Implementation of a Fiscal Sustainability budgeting model that extends funding for the local government well into the future and
• Completing the new sewer project design with an eye to contractor canvassing and selection.

Since the 2018 disaster, Paradise has experienced a 35% growth in its population, attracted more than 350 new businesses, and added new schools and recreation areas. It is moving steadily toward a complete implementation of its full Recovery Plan.

Lahaina, HI

The island town of Lahaina, HI, is just two years into its recovery process after a devastating 2023 fire wiped out the entire downtown area except for its famous Banyon Tree. The fire destroyed 2,200 structures, causing more than $5.5 billion in damages. More than 100 people died in the conflagration. In the 18 months since the flames were extinguished, Lahaina has followed a similar path to recovery as Paraside did, and that is anticipated for the LA area, too.

• 100% of both residential and commercial properties are now cleared of debris;
• The Kealamoka Fleming Road Sewer line is 99% repaired, with full completion expected by March 15, 2025, and
• Hundreds of building permits have been issued. As of February 28th, 11 properties have completed their construction rebuild projects.

Like Paradise and (soon) the LA region, Lahaina’s Long-Term Recovery Plan encompasses economic recovery, enhanced housing and commercial development, and better protections for natural and built resources.

LA’s populations – residents, businesses, and industries – are all affected by the fires in one way or another. Recovery resources are available for those who were directly impacted. At the same time, governments and agencies are devising the plans needed to bring the whole community back to – or better than – its former glory. The two towns of Paradise, CA, and Lahaina, HI, are excellent examples of how growth can emerge even from tragedy, giving heart to Los Angeles and all entities that call it home.

 

Pivot: How the Wildfires are Changing the LA Region

Pam Sornson, JD on February 18, 2025

Just as the COVID-19 pandemic reordered the world, so will the LA fires upend Los Angeles and its industrial base. The flames themselves destroyed great swaths of public and privately owned real estate, which may or may not be rebuilt. Beyond the burn zones, smoke and wind influences in far-flung agricultural communities have damaged crops; the economic value of those losses is yet to be determined. Further, many regional supply chains and industrial systems that have survived the fires may experience higher demand for goods and services without the means to respond directly to those requests.

In short, the damage caused by the fires impacts more than just the property owners who’ve lost their homes and businesses. Damages have also been suffered by the city, the county, and all of the Southern California region. Governments, industrial leaders, and companies must now assess where the failures and damages occurred and determine whether to mend or repair them or simply rebuild anew.

Immediate Known Losses. Longterm Uncertainties.

Real Property Losses

The immediate real property loss estimates caused by the fires encompass a myriad of real estate assets:

• Approximately 16,000 homes and business buildings were destroyed.
• The median value of each of these destroyed properties is estimated at $2.09 million.
• Multiplying that figure by a ratio of 2.2, the ‘insured capital’ value (as determined by insurance figures derived from previous fire disasters) puts the estimated aggregate real property loss in the region at ~$74 billion.

These figures apply solely to the buildings that were destroyed during the crisis and may not reflect the total loss to property owners. In some cases, insurance values may be lower or homeowners may have eschewed insurance altogether. In other cases, insurance companies may have dropped coverage for properties in these areas due to heightened risk of loss or damage by any cause, leaving owners with no financial recourse at all. In either of those instances, home and property owners may not collect the full value of their losses.

Ancillary Losses

Other figures suggest a more overarching ‘loss map,’ one that includes the fire’s impact on industrial and public resources, as well as on the community’s health.

Agriculture

California is the country’s top agricultural producer, accounting for as much as 11% of the nation’s aggregate annual output. However, on a smaller scale in terms of actual product, the LA region accounts for a larger percentage of the national food supply, depending on the crop:

• It annually delivers 27% of the country’s fruit supply, including citrus, apples, etc.
• It also provides 24% of the nation’s vegetable production, and
• almost 20% (19%) of the nuts grown in the U.S.

The nine regional counties responsible for the annual and food cash infusions into national coffers are also the most affected by the fires. Los Angeles, Monterey, Kern, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties have all experienced adverse effects from the disaster, either directly by fire or indirectly by smoke or ash or both. Smoke from the flames has tainted thousands of acres of agricultural land in the nine most affected counties, devastating this year’s yield. At the same time, ash falling across fields and acreage is tainting the soil, which will affect crop quality for at least another year or more.

In addition to the loss of agricultural resources, many of the ~86,000 agricultural workers are also impacted as their livelihoods literally ‘go up in smoke.’ The aggregate contribution to California’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of both agricultural labor and crop production is $10.8 Billion, plus another $9.2 billion contributed by related supply chain industries. The abrupt cessation of agricultural industry activities will significantly impact the state’s budget as a whole.

Supply Chains

Fortunately, no major industrial warehouses were destroyed by the wildfires, although some lost power for a period to reduce the risk of igniting more. However, the extent of the loss of physical and real property suggests that the supply chains that fill those warehouses will suffer significant strains as communities begin their rebuilding processes. And those strains may appear sooner rather than later as communities work to resume their lives amidst the ruins:

• Retail stores (grocery, apparel, home goods) may experience excessive runs on their wares as displaced populations travel in search of resources they’d lost in the fires.
• Building supply stores will almost certainly have to expand their volume of goods as neighborhoods begin the actual rebuilding process.
• Logistics suppliers will also experience higher than usual call volumes as both individuals and companies reach out to replace supplies and goods that were either lost or have already been snapped up.

These phenomena will require attention and resources as the Southern California region moves toward recovery.

Public Health

An additional collateral impact on the LA region caused by the wildfires is that of smoke on the human body. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tracks how various populations are affected by wildfire smoke and uses the data to measure the impacts on health rates in affected communities. The EPA uses an Air Quality Index (AQI) to determine the relative quality of the nation’s air and associates those data with human health impacts and outcomes. According to their research, while inhaling wildfire smoke is bad for everyone, some populations will suffer more – and longer – after being exposed to toxins like those recently released in LA County:

• The wildfire smoke is more challenging for younger and older people. Children can be particularly sensitive; their bodies are inherently more vulnerable and they are often outdoors much more than grown-ups.
• Older adults (middle-aged and beyond) also tend to suffer more significantly from smoke inhalation. Often, there are pre-existing conditions that impair lung and heart functions, both of which absorb much of the brunt of the smoke damage.
• Sick people are often made more sick when exposed to toxic smoke and fumes. Those with cardiovascular conditions such as high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and cerebrovascular conditions frequently experience additional symptoms when inhaling smoke-tainted air, such as heart palpitations, lightheadedness, and shortness of breath.

Pregnant women, outdoor workers, and those of lower socioeconomic standings are also among individual groups that suffer more egregious injuries when exposed to toxic environmental conditions like wildfire smoke.

It’s been just a few weeks since the fires were contained, and, in many cases, assessments for damages haven’t yet begun. As they commence, they will certainly reveal not just immediate concerns but also circumstances that will have a more prolonged, more profound impact on the greater community. As the region moves into the ‘assess and address’ phase, that emerging data will reveal just how much the fires cost directly, in terms of actual losses, and will cost in terms of rebuilding and recovery expenses.

 

Unlikely Heroes: Incarcerated LA Fire Responders Rise Above Barriers

Pam Sornson, JD on February 4, 2025

Wildfires are very, very expensive. Billions of dollars in damages are lost each year (much of which is borne by insurance companies and their insureds) as well as additional billions of dollars expended to suppress (prevent) and fight (quell and extinguish) them. The recent Los Angeles fires represent a worst-case scenario, where extremely high winds and adverse weather conditions coupled with years of drought generated levels of urban devastation that have not been seen before.

For a remarkable contingent of firefighters, however, the catastrophe was also a truly unique opportunity to do better for themselves. California’s prison inmate firefighters volunteer to put their lives on the line for the very community that incarcerates them. By doing so, they have the opportunity to rise above their situation, contribute positively to their community, and create a chance for a better future for themselves and their families.

California’s Wildfire Statistics

Perhaps not surprisingly, California experiences more, bigger, and costlier wildfires than any other U.S. state (with the word ‘wildfire’ distinguishing the difference between a fire in remote, rural, and forested areas versus fires that occur within urban areas). According to the Insurance Information Institute, of the top ten most expensive wildfires in the United States, nine occurred in California over the past eight years (Colorado’s 2021 Marshall Fire is the only outlier). In terms of most destructive wildfires (most number of acres burned), the Palisades and Eaton fires have already notched up to numbers three (20,438) and four (13,690) on the list, topped only by the Camp Fire of 2018 (153,336), and the Tubbs Fire of 2017 (36,807). These disasters amass a series of staggering losses, from lives to property to memories and histories. Early estimates of the economic losses caused by LA’s recent conflagrations range from $40B to as much as $250B. When final costs and losses are tallied, it is anticipated by some that the Los Angeles wildfires of 2025 will be the most costly disaster ever in the country’s recent history.

California’s Firefighting Resources

Suppression Activities

In addition to the losses caused by fire, other fire management services and activities to prevent fires (‘fire suppression‘ costs) also tack on millions of dollars to state budgets each year. The cost of fire suppression activities in California have been expanding significantly over the past ~four decades:

• Between 1980 and 1985, annual costs to prevent wildfires totaled ~$14M.
• Between 2015 and 2020, that annual figure had grown to ~$685M.
• An estimate for the exact preventative costs for the period between 2020 and 2025 comes to ~$868M, although that preliminary figure has yet to be fully quantified. According to CalMatters, California spent $3.7 billion in fire mitigation costs just in fiscal years 2021 and 2022.

Regardless of the volume and value of suppression investments, however, wildfires still continue to ignite and consume thousands of acres of land and millions of dollars of property every year.

Equipment

The cost of firefighting equipment is also high. Because of the high risk of injury or death for firefighters, their tools and machinery are often state-of-the-art and expensive to purchase and maintain. Thousands of hand tools must be ready to go at a moment’s notice, while other services, such as tanker planes, land-based trucks, and earth movers must be fully stocked and ready to roll at the first sign of smoke. For example, the best-in-class CL-415 water scooper aircraft, one of the best tools for reducing fires in remote areas, costs $13,500 an hour to deploy.

Up through 2024, California invested $2.5 billion in its arsenal of firefighting tools, and Governor Newsom’s 2025 budget adds another $1.5 billion over the next few years.

Human

The cost of maintaining and deploying human firefighters has also risen, and California has increased its standing population of firefighters from 5,829 to 10,741 since 2018. A 2024 $2 billion investment by the state allows for shorter workweeks for all firefighters while adding 2,400 more bodies to the corps.

In addition to its state-based firefighting contingent, other organizations have contributed human resources to engage with and defeat the flames:

• 2,500 California Army and Air National Guard members were on-site in LA during the fires, while
• An additional 500 Marines from San Diego County’s Camp Pendleton were on stand-by (as of January 14) to deploy ten active-duty Navy helicopters over the affected communities.

And California’s prison system has also stepped up to assist in fighting the conflagration. Close to 1,750 incarcerated people were deployed as firefighters during the crisis, voluntarily providing vital services to their community despite their criminal histories.

California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation runs a volunteer firefighter program that trains imprisoned inmates to perform specific firefighting duties in conjunction with professional fire management operations. While some may squawk at the low pay they receive (as little as $10 per day), the opportunity is one of a lifetime for many of the inmates.

Program courses happen in the prison, where inmates and parolees learn to clear brush and create firelines using heavy equipment. They don’t use fire hoses, nor do they run engines or go into buildings. Instead, these workers develop the breaks between burning and nonburning areas, using hand tools and brute strength to clear away the debris and vegetation that pose ignition threats. Their incentives to join the corps are significant:

• While their training occurs within prison walls, they live at an open camp work near the fire.
• Meals are larger and have better nutritional value than those inside prison walls, and
• weight and athletic equipment help them train and strengthen before they enter the fray.
• They work a 24-hour shift and then receive a 24-hour rest day, which is just the same as for all firefighters.

Once the fire is contained and their work is done, the incentives continue:

• They can earn ‘time served’ credits for their efforts, which reduces their overall time behind bars.
• Their criminal history can be expunged after they’ve been released, which allows them to find new work after incarceration that they would not have qualified for otherwise.
• After release, they can attend additional firefighter training at the Ventura Training Center to become eligible for work with the U.S. Forest Service.

Many of the program’s participants say it changed their lives, giving them purpose, direction, and ambition for a better future. For many, the opportunity for a fresh start post-prison is unmatched, and they leap at the chance to make a new start when they exit the system.

So, while the fires cause untold millions of dollars in damage and loss, the opportunity for these brave individuals to fight them while rehabilitating their own lives is priceless. That’s one small bright light in an otherwise dark and dangerous fire-consumed world.

Still Relevant: Employment and Workplace Trends for 2025

Pam Sornson, JD on January 28, 2025

This article was written before the fires erupted. At that time, its messages were more philosophical; ‘climate change’ as a social concern was more theoretical than real. Now, as its consequences devastate the LA region, these social concerns rise in prominence, especially as the region contemplates its response to its new environmental reality. Accordingly, it appears that these trends will remain operative – and perhaps take on even more significance – for the foreseeable future and will definitely be influencing the recovery processes adopted across Southern California as it moves forward through and beyond the destruction.

Despite significant alterations in global economic activities (caused by wars, weather disasters, political maneuvering, etc.), well-defined ‘trends’ still drive businesses and industries. Further, while ongoing interruptions may also affect these trends, their impetus remains influential on how, why, when, and where people get their work done. Looking into 2025, these three factors will be notably present in consumer, industry, and economic evolutions.

The ‘Sustainable’ Business

Growing environmental concerns continue to stimulate changes in how companies do their business and approach their customers. Recent research indicates that consumer preferences play a critical role in how organizations elect to direct their resources, especially companies that produce consumer packaged goods (CPG). The sale of these food and beverage products, cosmetics, cleaning and home maintenance wares, and similar personal and household items accounts for over $14 trillion annually in the U.S., which adds up to approximately two-thirds of the American Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Those transactions carry immense economic clout, and enterprises that cater to this consumer segment have learned that being responsive to their target market across all factors, including sustainability, is a sure way to win a larger share of it.    

‘Sustainability’ encompasses three tenets of action:

  • ‘Environmental sustainability’ pursues the principle that today’s careful and responsible maintenance of natural resources (land, water, air, etc.) should preserve and conserve them for access and use by future generations. Reducing waste, reusing materials and resources, and limiting carbon emissions all contribute to a cleaner planet and a happier consumer base.  
  • ‘Social sustainability’ is also considered to be part of a sustainable enterprise. Businesses that advertise their socially adept activities boast about workplace and organizational health and safety practices, inclusive policies that offer equal and fair opportunities to all constituents (staff and customers), and an awareness of the need for a work-life balance for their workforce.
  • ‘Economic sustainability’ is achieved when companies master their social and environmental responsibilities and can authentically report that their long-term plans and actions don’t negatively impact their industry, community, or consumer base.

Globally, these three forms of ‘community care’ have already driven immense changes in the world’s trade, industry, and social sectors, and many organizations are using the concepts to build their future. However, their focus has changed: instead of strategizing what they need to do to be sustainably successful, they are now seeking to leverage their sustainability activities to improve the economic value of their products and services. As the sustainability aspect of doing business gains more traction, more companies will be asking the second question in order to attract and retain a growing consumer base.

 

The ‘Purposeful’ Brand

As an adjunct to sustainability, both businesses and consumers are measuring how companies act in relation to social and cultural realities as an indicator of their value to the community. ‘Brand activism‘ refers to the ‘social stance’ a particular organization takes with regard to socially sensitive topics, such as racial equity, climate change, and fair access to resources. A recent study by Deloitte revealed that one in five shoppers (19%) intentionally purchased from sellers that proclaimed their positive brand purposes and activities, while over one in four (26%) elected not to buy from organizations whose brands displayed negative behaviors in relation to social concerns. In fact, four of five study respondents (79%) said they were very aware of how their favorite merchants behaved in the world and that those realities actively escalated their perception of the enterprise as a high-quality supplier. On the other hand, one in three (31%) respondents indicated that negative behaviors exhibited by their selected merchants reduced their opinions of – and their willingness to buy from – those companies.    

Finally, of all the social concerns that are evident in today’s fraught corporate and industrial world, four in five survey respondents (81%) reported that climate change was the most significant to them. One company went all-out in redefining itself as a responsible corporate actor in today’s global economy: Unilever. After crafting its now signature line of ‘Sustainable Living Brands,’ the conglomerate saw its included brands grow in the next year by as much as 69% over the progress of its non-affiliated brands.  

 

The Hybrid Employment Opportunity

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed clearly that employee effort provided high corporate value regardless of the worker’s location. Computer programs were modified to provide enhanced digital security for the ‘distributed’ workforce, which, in turn, could craft a workday that best suited its personal needs and preferences. The shift away from a single, corporate-mandated workplace resulted in increased productivity for the company and enhanced job satisfaction for the employee – truly a win-win situation. ‘Going to work’ now means turning one’s attention toward a corporate ‘ecosystem’ comprised of local, on-site, and remote workers who converse and collaborate through digital channels.   

Today’s hybrid work model is fluid depending on the goals of the company, the needs of its particular workforce, and its customers’ demands.

  • Companies that facilitate a flexible workplace for their employees enjoy more productivity and better returns on their workforce investments. The practice also helps to retain top talent; one survey indicated that almost half (42%) of reporting respondents said they would leave their current employment if the remote work opportunity were discontinued.
  • Employees typically elect their personal preference for their work site, which may be at the formal office, in a home office, on the road, or even a combination of all three. These workers enjoy more flexibility in their work life and are able to schedule work requirements around family and other responsibilities.
  • Consumers respond positively to the hybrid work model because, to them, it represents the company’s respect for its workforce. This ’employee-centric’ mindset suggests a more evolved form of corporate leadership, which is attractive to populations that aren’t impressed by legacy work systems and rigid rule sets.  

 

Despite the current unrest around the world, these and other workplace trends will maintain their impact as the global economy wrestles with upheaval and uncertainty across many of its sectors. In many cases, the trends themselves may prove to be the saving grace for workers, their employers, and the consumers who rely on their good products – and good works.  

PCC and the Los Angeles Wildfires

Pam Sornson, JD on January 21, 2025

Some of our readers may not know that Pasadena City College (PCC) sits just a few miles from the southern evacuation perimeter of the Eaton fire. Our campus has seen firsthand the devastation of this fire and the chaos it has created in our very tight-knit community. Our hearts go out to our neighbors, colleagues, friends, and family affected by this circumstance. PCC will do all that it can to aid its community as it works through this crisis and begins its healing process.

In this edition of the Pulse, we are sharing some of the resources and responses to the fires that have emerged in the last week. Health services, housing, transportation, and even pet care are all critical concerns for the thousands of Los Angeles residents affected by the blazes. The agencies that offer these and other critical services are available and coordinating support opportunities to any Angelino affected by the infernos.

PCC-Centered Resources

Pasadena City College is located at the heart of the wildfire resource network and is hosting several agencies that are providing support and resources for fire victims and survivors. If you have suffered losses due to the fires, these entities may have the resources you’ll need to move forward. You can contribute to the PCC Community Relief Fund if you’d like to help those in need because of the fires.

Free Childcare

First responders, essential workers, and Impacted families with eligible children can find free emergency childcare on the PCC campus through the services of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles. The facility is located at Harbeson Hall (enter on the backside of the L Building that faces Colorado Boulevard) and can take in children four years, nine months or older, and be in grades TK through 8th. The general community can go here to enroll; PCC Parents can enroll through this link.

Mental Health Support

The Circadian (found on campus in CC Building, Room 130) is hosting mental health support services on Friday, January 17 from noon to 2:30 pm. Find more information here.

Small Business Support – PCC Small Business Development Center and Women’s Business Center

The Small Business Administration is providing a Disaster Loan Outreach Center for small companies, private non-profits, and other organizations that have sustained economic losses due to the fires. Located on the PCC campus in the Continuing Education Center Bungalow – B4, the entity is now open Mondays through Fridays, 9 am – 6 pm, and Saturdays, 9 am 4 pm.

The LA SBDC has also prepared this comprehensive Disaster Response Guide that links to many response efforts throughout the region and will be updated regularly as needed.

As well, keep an eye on the PCC Women’s Business Center, which tailors its support service to businesses owned and operated by women.

Help Us Identify Unmet Needs

The PCC community – students, faculty, staff, families, and neighbors – can help the school identify as-yet-unidentified needs by submitting a PCC Fire Recovery Needs Assessment Form. Input received directly from those who the crisis has impacted will help us to better serve them and those who will follow in their footsteps.

Additionally, stay informed of what’s happening and what you can do about it by tracking available and evolving resources and staying current on emerging situations. Sign up for RAVE to receive updates and alerts on what’s happening at PCC.

 

LA County Wildfire Response Resources

LA County has leveraged many resource services in response to the fires, as almost 92,000 of its residents are currently under mandatory evacuation orders, and another 89,000 have been warned to prepare to leave their homes. These agencies are offering support:

For shelter and Lodging:

• 211 LA has joined with Airbnb to provide emergency temporary shelter for displaced LA residents. To start that process, complete this form.
• The LA Homeless Services Authority advises that several county agencies are offering help to people seeking shelter, including:

o Red Cross Los Angeles,
o the local hotel association, and
o the YMCA of Metropolitan LA, among many others.

Search here for those and additional services offered by local and county companies and businesses.

Addition County Resources:

Unique situations may need other support. Check out this directory to find these and other agencies that may be able to help you:

• Los Angeles County Department of Aging and Disabilities
• Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control
• Los Angeles County Department of Assessor’s Office
• Los Angeles County Department of Child Support Services
• Los Angeles County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs
• Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity
• Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health

 

California State Wildfire Response Resources

Meanwhile, in California, Governor Gavin Newsom has launched a new website, CA.gov/LAfires, that offers resources at the state level for damages and losses caused by these catastrophes. Here, you can find other available resources, as well as locally situated support options, including:

• evolving fire maps,
• employment and unemployment benefits,
• tips and alerts for developing concerns, and
• possible tax relief options.

In the LA area, a variety of service organizations have emerged to respond immediately to the needs of survivors of the fires. For those who have lost housing, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) has opened two Disaster Recovery Centers in Los Angeles County. As of Tuesday, January 14, these shelters and services are available to victims of the fires

• The UCLA Disaster Recovery Center is located at 10850 West Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064.
• The Pasadena Disaster Recovery Center is located at Pasadena City College in the Community Education Center, 3035 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91107.

Both recovery centers are open Monday through Sunday from 9 AM to 8 PM. Providing support service services through the centers are California’s:

• Department of Motor Vehicles,
• Department of Social Services,
• Franchise Tax Board,
• Employment Development Department,
• Contractor Estate License Board,
• Department of Insurance,
• Department of Tax and Fee Administration,
• Department of Veterans Affairs,
• Department of Public Health, and
• Department of Housing and Community Development.

If seeking services at either Disaster Recovery Center, be sure to bring with you:

• the address of the damaged primary residence,
• your current phone number and mailing address,
• your bank account information, and
• your insurance coverage information.

Other resources available through California’s government can be found at ca.gov/LAfires/. A list of resources can be downloaded in both English and Spanish to help victims of the fire find needed resources, including:

• Advanced financial assistance,
• Funds for repair or replacement of a damaged home,
• Disaster-related legal services,
• Disaster-related employment assistance,
• Housing and rental assistance,
• And any other needs not listed.

Additionally, victims can find assistance finding shelter and filing insurance claims, and there is a helpful list of tips for wildfire claimants that may prove vitally important.

Federal Resources

President Joe Biden’s declaration that the LA fires constitute a ‘Major Disaster‘ makes victims and survivors of those fires eligible for federal programs based on the unique types and extent of damage they suffered. To apply for federal assistance from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, follow these procedures:

  • Click on DisasterAssistance.gov/DAC-RI/assessment,‘ and hit the ‘apply’ button on the website page. Your responses to those questions will determine whether your emergency qualifies for federal aid.
  • Once your qualification is established, create an account on login.gov to establish your presence with the FEMA agency.
  • Be prepared to provide necessary data to the agency, including:
    •  your home, mailing, and email addresses
    • your phone number;
    • your Social Security number;
    • your immigration or citizenship status, if applicable,
    • your banking information, and
    • your insurance information.
  • Enter the data into the application form and describe the circumstances of your particular emergency. Add as much data as possible, but know that you can amend your application later as new information becomes available.
  • Once you’ve created the application, save it to your computer and be sure to capture your application identification number. FEMA agency will ask for that number every time they talk to you.

When received, FEMA will review your application and contact you if they need more information. You can also log back in at any time to check your status and to determine if there’s anything else you need to provide. Once you do qualify, FEMA will send you a payment using the method you provided.

If you’ve lost your business or your company has been adversely affected, you can seek disaster assistance from the Federal Small Business Administration (SBA). For the California wildfires, the SBA is providing financial aid to cover several types of damage and injuries. Loans available from the SBA include:

  •  Home loans for homeowners or renters to repair or replace disaster damage with damaged l estate and personal property, including cars.
  • Economic Loans to cover financial injuries:
  • Disaster loans from the SBA provide working capital to help businesses, agricultural, cooperative, aquaculture agencies, and most private nonprofit organizations meet their ordinary and necessary obligations.
  • Physical disaster loans are available to businesses to repair or replace corporate property, including real estate, supplies, machinery, inventory, and equipment.

All sized agencies are eligible for the support, including private nonprofit organizations, churches, private universities, charities, etc. For more information about federal government disaster support services, go to fema.gov/disaster/4856.

The fires and aftermath will fundamentally alter California, Los Angeles City and County, and the City of Pasadena. PCC is a witness to what’s transpired to date and will be working with its neighbors and colleagues as our community quells the immediate threats and looks forward to building a stronger, more resilient future.

California’s Employment Laws are Changing in 2025

Pam Sornson, JD on January 7, 2025

Three elements are fundamental to the overarching concept of ‘workforce development’: the employer, the employee, and the employment itself. Numerous sets of rules and regulations govern the activities of each separate element, and some cover aspects of all three. These rule sets are established by the company, the industry, and the government, each of which has its own mandate as to why things must be done in those prescribed ways. Rules set by governments – laws – apply to all relevant entities within their jurisdictions, and those regulations are designed primarily to keep the applicable person/organization and their/its community safe from harm:  

  • Laws mandating safety practices keep workers, their bosses, and their customers safe.
  • Laws governing wages, time off, social insurance, etc., ensure that most workers have the time and money needed to achieve their daily and long-term goals.
  • Laws governing workspaces and facilities ensure that anyone entering them will be safe, regardless of their reason for being there.

As times change and industries and societies shift, the workspace rules also change. In 2025, California’s workers, employers, and industries will be managing some significant changes in the way they work and how their workplace is managed.

 

New Laws Impact 2025 EWD Efforts

For Employers:

Employers will have some adjusting to do to get in compliance with incoming 2025 California legislation, with several new mandates coming into force. These few are notable:

  • The State’s minimum wage (MW) is rising to $16.50 per hour across the board while some cities and regions are moving it even higher. In San Diego, workers will now be earning $17.25 per hour; in San Jose, that value rises to $17.95. Note also that a separate initiative, Proposition 32, sought to raise the MW to $17.00 per hour in companies with 25 or fewer employees and to $18.00 in organizations with 26 or more workers. While that effort failed, the vote was split at 50.8% against and 49.2% in favor, suggesting that the opportunity might arise again.
  • New causes of action for harassment can arise when two or more offensive or discriminatory behaviors occur at the same time. The new term is ‘intersectionality,’ as that is defined in Senate Bill (SB) 1137, Civil Code section 51, and Government Code section 12926, and it refers to when a person experiences biased behavior based on two or more forms of harassment. A Hispanic man, for example, might have claims rising from harassment based on both his ethnicity (Hispanic) and his gender (male).
  • “Captive Audience” meetings are now banned in all California workplaces, too. These gatherings became ‘mandatory attendance’ by corporate decree when certain topics were on the table, specifically politics, union representation, and religious beliefs. The new “California Worker Freedom from Employer Intimidation Act” (SB-399) prohibits employers from requiring employees to attend meetings that push particular political or religious perspectives or that discourage unionization discussions. Retaliating against workers who refuse to attend these meetings is also now legislatively banned, and any employee choosing to work instead of participating in the chats must be paid their ‘normal rate of compensation.’   

 

For Employees     

Workers will also have new circumstances to navigate in the new year:

  • Workers who need access to Paid Sick Leave benefits will have them expanded to cover absences caused by “qualifying acts of violence” (QAV). SB 616 covers QAVs suffered by both the worker and their victimized family members and includes injuries and trauma caused by domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking behaviors, and other acts that threaten or cause bodily harm to an individual. SB 616 and its partner Assembly Bill 2499 (AB 2499) modify Government Code section 12945.8 to ensure that employers with 25 or more workers provide the time off workers need to recover from their injuries and that they aren’t retaliated or discriminated against because they were – or their family member was – victimized by a QAV.
  • Workers will also have more protected time off than before when AB 2123 takes effect. That Bill amends  Unemployment Insurance Code section 3303.1 to prohibit the requirement that workers seeking family temporary disability insurance benefits take up to two weeks of earned but not used vacation leave prior to obtaining their access to the separate time off option. Employees will no longer have to consume their earned ‘vacation’ time when they need time off to manage disabling family circumstances.  
  • Independent contractors have new rights protecting them, too, with the enactment of the Freelance Worker Protection Act (FMPA). This new law gives freelancers who provide ‘professional services’ (human resources administration, marketing, grant writing, etc.) ‘basic worker protections’ against exploitation by requiring those who hire them to:
    • put the agreement in writing,
    • include both party’s names and addresses,
    • clearly define the scope of work expected,
    • clarify how compensation will be made and paid, and
    • establish the timeframe in which payment will be made.
  • Not least significant to many workers is the requirement that employers post their mandates regarding whistleblower laws in a prominent place. California’s ‘WhistleBlower‘ model poster clearly states who the law is intended to protect, how those protections operate within the organization, defines the elements of the ‘act‘ of alerting officials to questionable practices by employers, and provides contact information when reports could or should be made. Should that need arise, employees will now have easy access to this information.  
  • Rising demand for support from the State’s disability insurance program (SDI) will also impact workers in the form of a slightly higher tax to cover those costs. Withheld taxes for the SDI fund will cover increases in allowances for workers who must take time off because of injuries to them or to care for injured or sick family members.  

 

As the new year launches, employees and their employers will be changing their customary routines to reflect these changes in California’s employment laws. Hopefully, the changes will improve not just employee morale but employer and enterprise success as well.

CA Invests in Apprenticeships in 2025

Pam Sornson, JD on December 17, 2024

There are many ways to build a workforce. In addition to structured educational programs, internships, and apprenticeships are also essential and valuable methods for finetuning workers to deliver precisely the right services and skills. In 2025, California’s government is investing $24.7 million in 65 different apprenticeship programs in the State’s most critical industries, giving both those companies and their future workforce a brighter, more financially stable future.

California’s Apprenticeship Innovation Funding (AIF) Program

In 2022, California introduced this new financial resource to increase its apprenticeship offerings across its many industries. In conjunction with the State’s Interagency Advisory Committee on Apprenticeships, the AIF assists organizations to scale and sustain their apprenticeship efforts.

Beginning in 2022, California allocated $135M towards the development and growth of these programs and has tasked the Departments of Industrial Relations (DIR) and its Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) with their administration. In FY 2023-2024, $75M was allocated for the purpose and the Governor has announced that another $24.7M is available for FY 2024-2025. These ‘earn-and-learn’ pathways allow novice workers to learn the skills they need to sustain long-term employment and earn money while on the (training) job. The 2025 allocation is expected to support over 8,200 new positions, paying an average of almost $32.00 per hour.

Notably, the newly funded apprenticeships pop up across several industrial spheres, which have already been designated as key sectors for sustaining the State’s economic foundation, such as advanced manufacturing, education, healthcare, transportation, business services, and the ‘public sector.’

More Money = Bigger Strategy

Additionally, in November 2024, Governor Newsom introduced a draft of a new framework designed to guide the State’s workforce and apprenticeship investment strategy, the California Jobs First Economic Blueprint. While the full document will be released in 2025, its draft offers exciting information for potential workers and their future employers:

• The framework encompasses ten primary industrial sectors that are critical to maintaining the State’s economy. These industries currently employ millions of workers across the State and produce billions of dollars in annual revenues.
• Administered by the Community Economic Resilience Fund (CERF), these apprenticeship-focused projects pursue California’s ambitious climate and economic goals, which aim at making the State carbon-neutral by 2045. CERF is powered by a $600M investment intended to stimulate the development of well-paying jobs in low-carbon industries. In its planning phase, CERF leadership worked with 13 High Road Transition Collaboratives around the State, each of which was granted $5M to build out their individual roadmaps to economic success, depending on the attributes and assets located within their region.
• The framework’s Regional Investment Initiative (RII) ensures that no community is overlooked or left out. The recent pandemic and weather-related disasters revealed significant service gaps in smaller, more remote communities. This program is designed to provide them with better, more comprehensive services and support to build a stronger local community economy from within. It should also prevent the repetition of previous failures and ensure that these small locales can grow their own economies and compete with their state-based and nationally situated competitors. Currently, the RII is completing its planning stage and has launched pilot projects across the State.
• The blueprint also recognizes that growth comes from new avenues as well as existing resources. It divides its industry focus into four segments, each of which supports a unique niche within each industry:
• The ‘Strengthen’ Stage – Established and economically competitive entities gain resources to continue their outward expansion. Industries identified in this category include manufacturing, professional and financial services, transport and logistics, and tourism, to name just a few.
• The ‘Accelerate’ Stage – Businesses and industries in emerging sectors gain funding to grow their capital and infrastructure foundations. Included in this strategy are organizations working in the life sciences, aerospace and defense, clean economy, and high-tech sectors.
• The ‘Bet’ Stage – Innovation also gets a nod with funding opportunities offered to emerging entities that provide high strategic importance within their industrial sphere. Entrepreneurs and other forward-thinking business leaders can find support to develop their unique but as-yet unproven initiatives in these areas: carbon management, critical minerals, artificial intelligence, and the emerging ‘bioeconomy.’
• The ‘Anchor’ Stage – Foundational entities located ‘on the ground’ in each region also benefit from the plan. These enterprises include existing businesses providing foundational support for workers, including education, child care, health care, and infrastructure management.

The blueprint sets out not just the goals but also the pathways to achieving its vision and commitment to economic growth through workforce development.

The CCCCO Weighs In

California’s Community College Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO) plays an integral part in the design, development, implementation, and success of many of California’s apprentice programs, and it works as a partner to the State in its goal of training 500,000 apprentices by 2029. The CCCCO also faces significant challenges in providing information, direction, and support for its 1.9 million students and 116 colleges. Underrepresented populations, economically challenged communities, and a lack of sustainable jobs and employment are all issues that arise on virtually every campus each year.

However, the agency has made good progress in its apprenticeship drive, with help from companion agencies like Jobs for the Future (JFF). That organization recently released a 2023 report on the depth and breadth of the apprenticeship initiative across the State:

• The Division of Apprenticeship Standards (an element of the CA Department of Industrial Relations) reports that the number of registered apprentices grew 11% between 2018 and 2023, from 84,217 to 93,798.
• Manufacturing provided the most apprenticeship opportunities (growing by 473% over that term), followed by healthcare (400%), IT (45%), and barbers and cosmetologists (95).
Barriers to further growth include insufficient employer engagement and a lack of funding options, both of which will be addressed with this new channel of state support.
Employers and future workers are encouraged to explore their apprenticeship options to find their own path to economic security through apprentice opportunities.

As the new year looms, many are looking to find a fulfilling and lucrative future in an existing or emerging industry. California offers its residents many opportunities by focusing on apprenticeships as training and workforce development tools.

 

Looking Ahead: Three EWD Developments in 2025

Pam Sornson, JD on December 17, 2024

By all accounts, 2024 was a momentous year. The world grappled with inflation, war, and wild weather disasters, while America also endured a polarizing election cycle. As it comes to a close, numerous experts are making predictions about how 2024 events will translate into 2025 realities. By all of those accounts, 2025 will present equally challenging circumstances that will require patience, diligence, and fortitude to navigate.

The Agentic Workforce

Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to lead most surveys as the driver of 2025 innovation and development. In 2024, organizations focused on embracing generative AI and instructional AI as they embedded those into their systems and programming. In 2025, AI becomes ‘agentic,’ and adds the capacity of autonomous decision-making to its many features. Agentic AI introduces iterative planning and sophisticated reasoning as tools to autonomously resolve complicated, multi-step problems. Using an agentic AI program adds a digital collaborative element to team activities, allowing human members to build innovations on digitally devised data foundations.

Four processes facilitate agentic AI functions:

1. Perception – The agentic AI program searches all available resources for relevant information, including sensors, digital interfaces, and databases. Images, documents, and programs are all open for evaluation based on the user’s specific inquiry or Project.
2. Reasoning – Using a large language model (LLM) facilitates agentic AI’s ‘thinking’ aspect. The LLM is designed to formulate the tasks, solutions, and strategies indicated by incoming data as those relate to the Project at hand. Additionally, ‘retrieval-augmented generation’ combines general knowledge data with enterprise-specific information to ensure that the company’s technological response is truly relevant and actionable.
3. Action – Directed by the combined analytics of in-house and real-world data, the agentic AI program can then execute appropriately responsive actions immediately and without additional oversight by humans. Embedded ‘guardrails’ within the program keep its activities tailored to the standards and preferences of the company.
4. Learning – Like all AI programming, agentic programs also learn as they go along, utilizing a continuous ‘feedback’ loop to clarify and test data model sets. Over time, the programming improves organizational efficiencies and decision-making capacities.

AI has already upended much of the 2024 industrial complex; agentic AI promises to cause as much of a furor in 2025.

Workforce Evolution: A Community of Skills

Even with the introduction of agentic AI, the human element of ‘workforce’ remains a critical tool for corporate success. While the COVID-19 pandemic changed how many occupations are performed (remote vs on-site, as an example), it also continues to influence how occupations are viewed by management. Emerging analysis indicates that the workforce will no longer be treated as a network of disparate jobs. Instead, it will be viewed as a ‘community of skills’ that is more fluid and flexible in its performance parameters. The changed perspective allows workers to expand their capacities beyond their job descriptions to utilize their full, individual talent base to address enterprise concerns. It also allows team leaders to harness the full complement of employee skills and abilities to pursue corporate goals.

And, speaking of ‘teams,’ investing in a team-based organizational strategy is also on the rise. Rather than managing a group of workers, team leaders will work within skill-based ecosystems, assigning tasks and activities to the members with the most relevant skill sets. Emerging problems and concerns will be ‘teamed’ as the new resolution strategy.

Workforce Evolution: Workforce Flexibility

New ways to maximize workforce assets will also be on the table in the new year. One driver of this trend is the incoming ‘Gen-Z’ workforce, people born after 1997. Like Millenials (the cohort born between 1981 and 1997), this generation of workers is tech-savvy and has fully embraced living life online. They already explore much of their world through digital portals and expect their work-life to be equally digitized. Consequently, working remotely will continue to be an option for employment, wherever that is feasible. However, the emerging workforce is seeking more than just locational flexibility. These workers are also looking for a more personalized employment experience where the work they do is tailored to their individual preferences and tastes.

Employers are responding by developing a more adaptive work environment that accommodates worker proclivities while also furthering corporate goals.

• Some have introduced ‘flexibility credits’ that facilitate their worker’s personal realities. Rather than demanding a traditional workday of ‘9-5, five days a week,’ these bosses allow employees to choose the hours they work based on their personal lives and obligations. In some cases, the flexibility spans the entire workweek, and workers produce their effort during the timeframe that works best for them. In other cases, there are certain ‘core’ hours when the entire workforce must be on the job. Otherwise, each employee can ‘flex’ their work time to suit their needs.
• In other cases, a ‘compressed’ work schedule allows the effort typically made during a five-day week to be compressed into a shorter time frame. The standard workday now comprises five days of eight hours per day. A compressed schedule may allow a worker to complete their work in ten hours a day over four days.

The impact of Gen-Z on the workforce will be notable, especially because so many companies are now struggling to find the talent they need. In many cases, this ‘talent shortage’ is technologically driven; the emergence of digital artificial intelligence has exploded the demand for tech-savvy experts and there aren’t enough of those available to fill all available job positions. Consequently, when an employer finds a worker with this skill set and these capabilities, keeping them happy on the job is a necessity for the future of the business. Data reveals that advertising a flexible worksite will attract top talent while also keeping corporate morale high. And a highly productive workforce almost always leads to high profitability.

The new year looms and changes are coming to how America and Americans work. If even a small percentage of these prognostications are accurate, it appears that 2025 will be even more momentous than 2024.

 

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