Featured News Articles
Stay Connected
Latest Updates from our Facebook Feed
Rebuilding Los Angeles is about more than rebuilding structures. It's about rebuilding communities, restoring stability, and creating a future where more people can afford to stAfter The Fire USAe USA Founder and CEO Jennifer Gray Thompson joined an important conversation at the ENR LA Infrastructure Forum (LAIF) on the Los Angeles County Disaster Rebuild Authority, affordable housing, and the opportunities and challenges ahead.Moderated by Mark Pestrella, Director of Los Angeles County Public Works, the panel brought together leaders working across community recovery, housing, construction, and utility infrastructure:• Jennifer Gray Thompson, Founder and CEO, After the Fire USA• Alex Athenson, Executive Director, Foothill Catalog• Dan Faina, President, Williams Rebuild• David A. Ford, Senior Government Relations Manager, Southern California EdisonWith approximately 400 contractors, consultants, and industry professionals in attendance, the conversation explored how strategy, scalable design, construction, and infrastructure can work together to accelerate recovery.Our message remains clear: Successful disaster recovery must be measured by the people and communities who can return, rebuild, and remain.We are grateful to Director Pestrella and our fellow panelists for making space for this important conversation.The decisions made today will shape Los Angeles for generations. Let's make sure survivors and their communities remain at the center #AftertheFireUSAT#LAWildfiresA#DisasterRecoverye#rebuildinglabuildingLA
Strongward Fellow at After The Fire USA Valerie Brown represented us at Lake County’s Ready, Resilient, and Insured Homeowners Summit.The summit was a master class on how to retrofit the more than 5 million homes across the state to protect homes and communities and provide access to affordable homeowners insurance. County Supervisor Supervisor Jessica Pyska, District 5 convened an informative series of panels highlighting the government partners from all levels who have supported this work, the work of Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety - IBHS, Madronus Wildfire Defense and Fire Aside to quantify the incredible work being completed, and the evolving insurance ecosystem that is beginning to reward homeowners who harden their homes and create defensible space. Many thanks to Supervisor Pyska and the amazing people of Lake County for convening!United Policyholders Mercury Insurance CSAA Insurance Group North Coast Opportunities, Inc. CAL FIRE Mike Wink Valerie Brown #CommunityResilience
Congratulations to Adrienne Heinz, PhD on being named to the 2026 Time 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders! Adrienne is a frequent volunteer and partner with After the Fire USA and launched her own nonprofit this year The After Collective. We are thrilled!
This content isn't available right now
When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.
There is a reason we wanted this story on film.Long-term recovery is hard to see from the outside. It lives in the conversations no one records, the people who answer the phone, the experience shared without being asked, and the community leaders who keep going when the headlines move on.Director Ralph Bloemers and his filmmaking team captured that humanity in the short documentary Until You're Home: After the Fire Stands With You.The film supported our submission to the 6th Annual Anthem Awards, wAfter The Fire USAe USA received a Silver Anthem Award for our survivor-led Los Angeles recovery program, Fire Survivors Supporting Fire Survivors in Los Angeles. The award recognizes the recovery work; the film helped tell its story.This 1–3 minute excerpt offers a glimpse of what it means to stand beside people rebuilding their lives and their communities. We are grateful to Ralph and his team for approaching this work with such care.To everyone in Los Angeles continuing the long road home: we see you. Your leadership matters. We are proud to be walking beside you.Watch the full documentary: youtu.be/60eD_Pv9Hx0Worst Club. Best Peop#AftertheFireUSAr#AnthemAwardsw#WildfireRecoveryo#untilyourehomeeHValerie BrownBJudy CoffeyoNatalie MinuzzonLisa MichelichJennifer Gray Thompsonmpsonyoutu.be/Elco5TaYN2c
Finding Hope and Rebuilding Spirit After Devastating Fire Losses
youtu.be
When fire ends, recovery begins.Until You’re Home follows wildfir...
After The Fire USA has won a Silver Anthem Award at the 6th Annual Anthem Awards.Our work, Fire Survivors Supporting Fire Survivors in Los Angeles, was honored in Disaster Relief & Emergency Response, Humanitarian Action & Services. We are proud of this recognition, and deeply grateful for the people behind it.The Eaton and Palisades fires changed lives and entire communities. And in Los Angeles we have met pioneers: creative risk-takers, organizers, builders, and doers who are finding their way forward while carrying unimaginable loss.We were called to meet this moment alongside them. We listened, shared what we learned from earlier megafires, connected people with practical expertise, and kept showing up. That work has meant 14 delegations, 6,213 documented hours of recovery support through July 2026, more than 1,325 meetings, and support for over 150 leaders. Much of it happens quietly, one decision and one conversation at a time.To the people who get up every morning and do what is right for their community, even when they're exhausted. To ordinary people who never imagined themselves as leaders, but stepped into extraordinary responsibility because their neighbors needed them. To the public servants and community leaders who choose to listen, trust the people they serve, and walk the long road home together. And to survivors who have already walked this road and came back to help someone else find their way.We see you. We admire you. We are proud to stand beside you.Thank you to our delegates, volunteers, partners, funders, and the entire After the Fire USA team: Jennifer Gray Thompson, Valerie Brown, Reva Feldman, Natalie Minuzzo, ATF Board: Judy Coffey, Marko Bey & Lisa MicheliThank you to the Anthem Awards and its judges for recognizing the work. The recovery is far from over, and neither is our commitment.Worst Club. Best People.Short Doc submitted for evidence by Ralph Bloemers, Fire Safe People#AnthemAwards #AfterTheFireUSA #WildfireRecovery #losangeles
We were honored to collaborate with Good360 and Peace on Purpose, an initiative of the United Nations Foundation, to host Responder Resilience in Wildfire Recovery: a day focused on supporting the people who show up for communities long after the flames are out.Community responders and organizations working through long-term recovery came together for a practical, hands-on workshop on self-care, stress management, well-being, evidence-based resilience practices, and community building. The gathering also marked the expansion into the United States of the United Nations Foundation’s work to support resilience and well-being.We’re grateful to Good360 and Peace on Purpose for their partnership, to Altadena Girls for welcoming us as our host, and to everyone who took part. Supporting those who serve is part of building stronger, more resilient communities.#ResponderResilience #WildfireRecovery #CommunityResilience #LongTermRecovery