Our Programs

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Community Navigation Post-Megafire 

We DEPLOY into wildfire communities to listen, learn, serve, navigate

We CONNECT community leaders with resources, tools, peer support, and a robust network

 

 

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We Advocate. We Educate.

We Go Together to Create Change in Washington DC

We Bring Together Leaders from Multiple Megafires

We Educate Lawmakers & Agencies on Wildfire

TOGETHER WE DO.

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We Innovate. We Mitigate.

We create new systems for resiliency

We administrate a forest mitigation resiliency program

 

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Our parent non-profit organization is Rebuild NorthBay Foundation (RNBF).

In partnership with the five Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) of Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, and Napa counties and Clear Lake Environmental Research Center, is offering the North Bay Forest Improvement Program to forest landowners across the four-county North Bay region.  This pilot program is made possible thanks to $5M in funding via a CALFIRE Wildfire Resilience and Forestry Assistance grant. Read more about this program.

Program News

What happens after the fire

NPR’s Pien Huang speaks to Jennifer Gray Thompson, founder and CEO of After the Fire USA, about what to expect from long-term recovery after a wildfire. PIEN HUANG, HOST: I want to stay on that last point that we heard from Greg about the plans to rebuild those communities that were lost building back after…

FILE PHOTO: Fire damage is shown in the Wahikuli Terrace neighborhood in the fire ravaged town of Lahaina on the island of Maui in Hawaii, U.S., August 15, 2023.  REUTERS/Mike Blake     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY/File Photo

Concerns over ‘climate gentrification’ rise after devastating fire in Maui

Kim Cuevas-Reyes, a 38-year-old cellphone store owner, snuck into Lahaina last Friday to see the remnants of her home with her own eyes. She took backroads and walked. What she saw stunned her. “When you step into the house, it’s like an inch or two of ash. There is nothing,” she said, adding that she…

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Affordability and availability of insurance in Colorado may depend on fire-hardening your home

As temperatures heat up across Colorado so too does wildfire danger, and firefighters aren’t the only ones tracking that danger closely — so is the insurance industry. Some insurers are already pulling out of Colorado and rates are doubling and tripling across the state because of wildfire danger. Experts say Colorado is at a crossroads.…

Jennifer Gray Thompson, CEO of After the Fire, on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. (Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune)

Sonoma Valley resident, After the Fire CEO joining Rep. Mike Thompson at Biden’s State of the Union address

Rep. Mike Thompson from California’s 4th District announced Friday morning that Jennifer Gray Thompson, founder and CEO of After the Fire, will be his guest for President Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday. As a lifelong resident of the valley and local leader in disaster relief from the 2017 fires, Rep. Thompson believes Gray…

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Consumer advocates say other insurance companies can help after State Farm won’t take on new policies for property owners

Consumer advocates say other insurance companies can help SACRAMENTO, Calif. — New neighborhoods going up in the Foothills could be in the path of grassfires, and homeowners are required to have insurance. But some are asking now what? State Farm announced it would no longer be accepting new applications for home and business owners. “I…

Santa Cruz, CA,USA on January 05, 2023. Santa Cruz. Bomb cyclone causes severe storm, severe flood damage; storm kills 2. Pier is evacuated, piers are down and hundreds of homes without power in coast

How California can better adapt to extreme weather

Takeaways: Climate change is expected to make atmospheric rivers like the ones that struck California even more destructive. A major atmospheric river event in the state could cost at least $200 billion, according to a model by USC Price School Professor Adam Rose. Potential solutions include banning construction in certain areas, buying out at-risk homes,…

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CA wildfire survivors lobby on Capitol Hill for tax-free PG&E settlement payments

Stream local breaking news and original programming, live 24/7, from ABC7 Bay Area. SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — A group of California wildfire survivors and delegates lobbied at Capitol Hill this week to pass a bill that would make PG&E Fire Victim settlement payments federally tax-free. Right now, those payments are considered income by the federal government.…

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The Fire Within: Jennifer Gray Thompson Has a Passion for Community Recovery

You might say that Jennifer Gray Thompson, a Sonoma resident helping communities rebuild after life-changing wildfires and megafires, was destined for this line of work. But with her mission rooted in community disaster, she continues to suffer an inherent degree of unease. “I still get afraid, and I’ve learned to live with a certain degree…

Local Perspectives on Federal Wildfire Assistance

In August, Hawai’i experienced one of the deadliest wildfires in American history, with at least 100 deaths and thousands of buildings destroyed or damaged. Unfortunately, this disaster is part of larger trend of wildfire destruction that extends to much of the mainland U.S. Over the past 30 years, wildfires have resulted in more than $100 billion in…

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Local State of the Union guest details experience

North Bay congressional representative Mike Thompson was notably absent from this year’s State of the Union address. That’s because he was a designated survivor, meaning the congressman took in the speech from a secure location in case of a catastrophe at the U.S. capitol. KRCB spoke with Thompson’s guest attendee about her experience. “I love America,” Jennifer Gray…

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Five years After the Fire, national recognition for Sonoma’s Thompson

Jennifer Gray Thompson, CEO of the Sonoma-based nonprofit After The Fire, is on Forbes ‘50 over 50: Impact’ list of national changemakers. The publication called Thompson a leader in the recent field of megafire disasters across the American West. Thompson’s path to leadership took several turns, Forbes noted. She was a high school dropout, a…

Jennifer Gray Thompson, CEO of After the Fire, on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. (Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune)

Sonoma disaster expert Jennifer Gray Thompson makes Forbes’ 50 over 50 women impact list

Jennifer Gray Thompson was recognized alongside Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson and bestselling author Brene Brown. Sonoma nonprofit leader Jennifer Gray Thompson was listed on Forbes’ 50 Over 50 2022: Women Stepping Into Their Power In Life’s Second Half, and she didn’t even know it. As she checked her phone with sleepy eyes on the…