About After
the Fire USA
RECOVER. REBUILD. REIMAGINE.
Our Mission
We support communities as they RECOVER from fire, REBUILD their lives, and REIMAGINE a more resilient future through prevention, innovation, and facilitating the connection from one fire-impacted community to another.
Our work is driven by the central question:
“What do you need and how can we help?”
Our Story
In October 2017, megafires ravaged California’s North Bay—destroying nearly 9,000 structures and devastating the communities of Sonoma, Napa, Lake, and Mendocino Counties. Among those affected was our CEO and founder, Jennifer Gray Thompson, who witnessed the destruction of her hometown and the heartbreak of her neighbors.
But the hardest part came after the flames. Recovery was fragmented. Federal systems weren’t designed for megafires. And for the first year, it was profoundly lonely. Communities like ours had no playbook—just the will to rise.
That experience gave birth to Rebuild NorthBay Foundation (RNBF) and, ultimately, led Jennifer and the Board to create the initiative After the Fire USA—a movement rooted in community strength, systems innovation, and paying it forward.
From One Region to a National Movement
When the Camp and Woolsey Fires struck in 2018, we knew that what we had learned couldn’t stay local. We began to pay it forward, sharing hard-earned tools, frameworks, and emotional guidance with communities entering the same nightmare we had just endured.
That moment launched a movement. We evolved into After the Fire USA, now the nation’s leading survivor-centered wildfire recovery organization, walking beside every megafire community in the U.S.
Between 2017 and 2021, megafires spread across California, Oregon and Colorado. We met the moment over and over again, ultimately leading us into Maui in 2023 and Los Angeles in 2025.
When disaster strikes, people do not reach for binders—they reach for people. People who have walked the path. People who can orient them, who understand the particular devastation, and who will walk their community home—while supporting local leaders every step of the way. We have the network, the experience, and the empathy. We are here for you—from Day One until you are home.
What We Do
We Coach. We Convene. We Collaborate. We Advocate.
We exist to strengthen community leadership, bridge broken systems, and
stand in solidarity with those charting the path from fire to full recovery.
Coaching & Peer Mentorship
Supporting local leaders with survivor-informed, real-world frameworks.
National Convenings
Bringing together hundreds of leaders annually to share best practices and spark innovation.
Real-Time Deployment
On-the-ground support and scalable tools for newly fire-affected communities.
Federal Advocacy
On-the-ground support and scalable tools for newly fire-affected communities.
Cross-Sector Collaboration
From local leaders to national policymakers—we work across boundaries to create lasting solutions.
Our Network
Runs Deep
Recovery doesn’t happen in isolation. That’s why we’ve built a robust, trusted network of experts and partners across every dimension of wildfire recovery:
- Survivors & community leaders
- Disaster navigation for individuals & municipalities
- Former FEMA, HUD & SBA officials
- Land management & fuels reduction
- Resilient rebuilding & insurance experts
- Debris removal & smoke damage specialists
- Mental health & trauma-informed recovery
- School & family recovery experts
- Equity-driven policy & philanthropy leaders
These relationships allow us to deliver immediate value, long-term strategy, and real support from those who understand
Our Impact
Since 2018, After the Fire USA has partnered with every megafire community in the country. We’ve transformed lived experience into national systems change, and isolation into connection.
We are building a national backbone for wildfire recovery, powered by community wisdom, equity, and evidence-based practices.
Our Commitment
We honor local leadership not override it.
We act with authenticity and humility.
We believe megafire is a solvable crisis.
We stay—long after headlines fade.