Tips for Recovering from Wildfires: Lessons from Survivors

Story by KQED.

For many of us, the idea of rebuilding your life after losing your home and belongings to a wildfire is unthinkable. But for many in Los Angeles, that’s now the reality after a firestorm leveled thousands of homes and businesses in early January.

This kind of recovery is “a long, hard road,” said Lizz Porter, a small business owner who lives in Colfax. Porter lost her home during the River Fire in Placer County in 2021. The work of rebuilding in the wake of a fire can take years, she said. “It is time consuming. It is heartbreaking. It is exhausting, but it’s also worth it.”

Porter is one of many Northern Californians who have survived devastating wildfires in recent years — and endured the process of rebuilding their lives. In a conversation broadcast on KQED’s Forum, Porter and other fire survivors shared their emotional and practical advice for people who have only recently started along the path to recovery.