Earlier this month, we watched the Climate Crisis, in full force, level entire neighborhoods in Alta Dena, Pacific Palisades, and other parts of Los Angeles.

It is hard to describe the horror of watching a community burn. 

Like many of you, I spent weeks glued to the news coverage of the LA fires and the resulting devastation–the loss of life and destruction of entire communities, including homes and businesses.  For many Angelenos, these fires feel like a gut punch to a region where so many live paycheck to paycheck.

Make no mistake: these difficult-to-contain fires are driven by climate change and are not going away. Sadly, these fires will continue and likely worsen in the years ahead.

It’s easy to feel discouraged and helpless as we watch the razing of entire communities, but we are NOT powerless. 

How we respond to these tragedies can serve as a roadmap for the future in LA, California, and nationwide.   

We can prioritize climate resiliency as we recover and ensure everyone, not just the wealthy, can return to their homes, businesses, and communities. 

As investigations and recovery efforts ramp up, here are three ways we can put this into practice:

1. Center the needs of people over exclusionary neighborhoods
2. Prioritize fairness and equity in relief and rebuilding
3. Revisit building codes and zoning ordinances to make our communities more fire-resilient, affordable, and welcoming

Aligning our policy and budget decisions with these efforts is critical to a successful and fair recovery. Without it, fires like the ones in Alta Dena and the Pacific Palisades will destroy longstanding communities, erase pockets of housing affordability, and erode the intergenerational wealth working families accumulate through home ownership.

It is critical that EVERYONE can rebuild. That doesn’t mean restoring neighborhoods in the exact condition and layout that made them more vulnerable to these firestorms – but it does mean ensuring that longtime residents, including Black and Brown families, have the financial support they need to rebuild.

It is the right time to encourage and streamline projects that rebuild in more fire-safe ways. It’s the right time to invest in infrastructure and nature-based solutions that protect structures and communities from climate-driven disasters. It’s the right time to legalize and build more homes in our existing communities where fire risk is lower and where we can more easily expand fire-fighting capacity.  

It is also time to address California’s broken insurance market, protecting the State’s long-term fiscal outlook, mitigating risk, and managing insurance availability and costs in an increasingly extreme climate.

Let me be clear: Rebuilding these communities will not be easy or cheap. It will require political courage, significant financial investments, and modernizing how we build communities. 

But in California, no challenge is too big!

There is no time to waste.  Let’s come together and get to work!  

With hope,
Melissa 

Melissa Breach 
CEO & Founder
Prosperity California

P.S. In December the Alliance for Climate and Housing Solutions hosted a relevant webinar on the increasing threats of wildfire to our communities—it’s well worth a watch.