Bay Area agency works to help Southern California fire victims recover

Story By NBC Bay Area.

A Bay Area-based agency is stepping up to help those impacted by the deadly and destructive Southern California wildfires.

After the Fire USA, based in Sonoma, is already getting to work in the Los Angeles area. CEO Jennifer Gray Thompson said the nonprofit group works with local agencies, providing hope and an eye to what comes next.

“The top priorities are how do they access insurance, what nonprofits are trusted, like United Policyholders, to help them navigate that,” Thompson said. “How to navigate things like contractor fraud. Three types of people show up after a disaster: those who want to sell you something, those who want to defraud you, and those who want to help.