Disaster Relief Information FOR PACIFIC PALISADES & Malibu Families
Many families I know have lost their homes or been otherwise severely impacted by the Palisades Fire. I’ve set up this webpage in hopes of assisting them and anyone else who is in this midst of this crisis. All links are to firsthand sources to insure the information is reliable. The page will be updated periodically to provide the latest information. Please contact me if you have any questions or would like me to post additional information that you think might be helpful.
Important Information
Deadline has passed on this one: You may be eligible for a grant from the Los Angeles County Relief Fund. The deadline to apply is this coming Monday, Feb 24, at 5 pm. You may also be eligible for a LA County Household Relief Grant. The application period begins on Feb 26 and ends on March 12, 2025.
The Facebook Group Pacific Palisades Fire Resources and Support contains a great deal of helpful information.
EPA PHASE 1 CLEANUP COMPLETED ON 25 FEB.
SIGN UP FOR DEBRIS REMOVAL OPTION (DEADLINE IS MARCH 31, 2025): Now that the EPA has completed “phase one” removal of toxic debris on a property, you can choose to participate in a free government program coordinated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to remove the balance of the debris. Or you can hire a licensed private contractor. Your insurance may cover this cost, or you may have to pay for it yourself. The sign up process began Tuesday, Jan 28. HERE’S THE PHASE 2 SIGNUP LINK. Per a LA COUNTY PRESS CONFERENCE held on Wed, Jan 29, while the cleanup by the Army Corps of Engineers is not necessarily on a first-come-first serve basis, the earlier you sign up, the sooner your homesite will be cleared. It is also estimated that 80-90% of the debris removal should be completed within a year. To reach Mark Pestrella, the Director of L.A. County Public Works, call (626) 458-4001, or email him at mpestrella@pw.lacounty.gov. His assistants are Adrine Dermenjian adermenj@pw.lacounty.gov and Terry Ortega tortega@pw.lacounty.gov.
FIND ZONE NUMBER AND STATUS OF YOUR PROPERTY: Go to Genasys Protect and type your address into the search bar. For Realtime Alerts on the Palisade Fire Status download the Watch Duty app (free), or view on your browser at WatchDuty.org.
IMPORTANT: “In cases of a total loss related to a state of emergency, insurance companies must provide an advance payment of no less than four months of additional living expenses if the consumer requests it, with additional benefits due after the advance period upon proper documentation.” Senate Bill 872. See Cal Dept of Insurance Webpage for Complete Details
Los Angeles County Property Assessor Announces Property Tax Relief
211 LA Palisades Fire Resources
LA County Website: Frequently Asked Questions About Returning After Fire
fire damage map
Fire Damage Map: Type in address to search for your home. Site is a little buggy, but it works. Search bar is at upper left of map and will not show until the map has loaded. These are preliminary maps showing damage assessments that have been posted to date. They are incomplete, but are being updated daily. If there is not a color icon on your address, it means the building has not yet been inspected. If there is, it will show extent of damage and jpeg photo.
FEMA
Apply for FEMA Assistance on FEMA Website
FEMA Application Video Tutorial
Income not factor when applying: FEMA does not consider your income when evaluating your application for Housing Assistance. However, your household income helps determine eligibility for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) long-term, low-interest disaster loans
FEMA Reforms to Individual Assistance-March 22, 2024-Details on FEMA Coverage. Here are some key excerpts:
1) Survivors whose primary residence is uninhabitable or inaccessible will receive cash assistance that provides them with greater flexibility in making the best decision for their immediate housing needs.
2) If displaced survivors need additional money for longer-term assistance, they can call the FEMA helpline and request rent money.
3) Survivors who have insurance but do not receive enough from their insurance company to cover their damage can receive additional money from FEMA to repair their homes and repair or replace personal property.
4) FEMA may pay for improvements if a survivor whose home is damaged in a disaster needs disability-related improvements, even if those features were not present prior to the disaster and the disability was not caused by the disaster.
5) If a survivor is self-employed, FEMA can provide some initial financial support to replace disaster-damaged tools and equipment.
6) Survivors who have a computer that is damaged by the disaster can receive assistance to repair or replace it. They can also receive assistance for additional computers if it is needed for work, educational or accessibility purposes.
Help for Survivors with Insurance: In some cases, FEMA may help pay for costs your insurance didn’t cover, up to FEMA’s maximum award amounts. For Fiscal Year 2024, these maximum amounts are $42,500 for Housing Assistance and $42,500 for Other Needs Assistance. If you submit the application for assistance with FEMA and you have insurance, you may receive a message that your assistance was “not approved.” This is a glitch in the FEMA website. If you have insurance that does not fully cover all of your costs (under-insured), you are still eligible for FEMA assistance. (See Rep. Brad Sherman’s website)
Assistance for Housing and Other Needs
How Do I Appeal FEMA's Decision?
INSURANCE CLAIMS
Top 10 Tips For Filing Insurance Claims per California Insurance Commisioner: Note First Tip—California law requires your insurance company to provide you with a complete copy of your residential homeowner's insurance policy, including your declarations page, free of charge within 30 days of your request. Ask your agent or insurer representative to explain how much coverage you have (1) to rebuild or repair your home, (2) for your personal belongings, and (3) for living expenses. This should include an explanation of Extended Replacement Cost and Building Code Upgrade coverages if applicable. Ask how to most effectively claim your coverage benefits.
Mandatory One-Year Moratorium on Insurance Non-Renewals and Cancellations: California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara issued a mandatory one-year moratorium on insurance non-renewals and cancellations for zip codes in areas directly affected by the Eaton and Palisades fires
Wildfire Survivors Now Covered By New Insurance Protections: Webpage by Cal Dept. of Insurance. States “Residents under mandatory evacuation for wildfire, even if they suffer no damage to their home, will receive additional living expenses for at least two weeks, with extensions for good cause . . . . In cases of a total loss related to a state of emergency, insurance companies must provide an advance payment of no less than four months of additional living expenses if the consumer requests it, with additional benefits due after the advance period upon proper documentation,” and much more. A must read.
Navigating Property Fire Insurance Claims Amidst the Los Angeles Fires: Blog post by Reed Smith, Insurance Recovery Law Firm (not endorsing, just posting because post contains valuable information)
Home Inventory and Contents Claim Tips: Advice on wow to collect the value of every personal property item that was damaged or destroyed (up to your policy limits) in the least time-consuming and painful way possible.
Taxes
LA County Property Taxes: If your property has been damaged or destroyed by the windstorms or wildfires, you may qualify for temporary property tax relief through the Misfortune and Calamity Program. Also see LA County Assessor’s Informational Packet on Disaster Relief.
Los Angeles County Property Assessor Announces Property Tax Relief: Per an executive order issued by Governor Newsom, taxpayers in the following zip codes may postpone their property tax payments until April 10, 2026, and business personal property tax statement filings until April 1, 2026, without being subject to penalties and interest: 90019 90265 91001 91107 90041 90272 91040 93535 90049 90290 91104 93536 90066 90402 91106. The postponement relief does NOT apply to payments made through an impound account nor to any taxes on the property that were delinquent as of January 6, 2025.
State Board of Equalization—Information Guide for Disaster Relief for Damaged or Destroyed Property
State Board of Equalization Disaster Relief Webpage
State Income Tax: In wake of the recent wildfires, the state is offering taxpayers in Los Angeles County a postponement on filing 2024 tax returns and making tax payments that would have been due between January 7 and October 15, 2025.
Federal Income Tax: California wildfire victims qualify for tax relief; various deadlines postponed to Oct. 15. Additionally, individuals and businesses in a federally declared disaster area who suffered uninsured or unreimbursed disaster-related losses can choose to claim them on either the return for the year the loss occurred (in this instance, the 2025 return normally filed next year), or the return for the prior year (2024). See IRS Website for details.
wildfire recovery resources-City of la
LA Wildfire Recovery Resources 2025: Assistance for Individuals and Families/Assistance for Property Owners/Assistance for Businesses and Workers/Shelter and Housing Services
SBA LOANS
Home & Personal Property Loans: Homeowners may apply for up to $500,000 to replace or repair their primary residence. Renters and homeowners may borrow up to $100,000 to replace or repair personal property — such as clothing, furniture, cars, and appliances — damaged or destroyed in a disaster.
Business Physical Disaster Loans: Up to $2 million to qualified businesses or most private nonprofit organizations to cover disaster losses not fully covered by insurance.
Economic Injury Disaster Loans: A business may qualify for both an EIDL (Economic Injury Disaster Loan) and a physical disaster loan. The maximum combined loan amount is $2 million.
Rebuilding
SIGN UP DEBRIS REMOVAL OPTION: Once the EPA completes "phase one" removal of toxic debris on a property (now complete), you can choose to participate in a free government program coordinated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Or you can hire a licensed private contractor. Your insurance may cover this cost, or you may have to pay for it yourself. You can sign up for either option beginning today, Tuesday, Jan 28. Here’s the link. To reach Mark Pestrella, the Director of L.A. County Public Works, call (626) 458-4001, or email him at mpestrella@pw.lacounty.gov. His assistants are Adrine Dermenjian adermenj@pw.lacounty.gov and Terry Ortega tortega@pw.lacounty.gov.
City Planning staff is available in-person seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Disaster Recovery Center, 10850 Pico Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90064. Affected residents with City Planning questions can reach out to Planning.PalisadesRebuild@lacity.org.
Obtaining Blueprints For Your Home—City of LA Jurisdiction: Request blueprints from the LA Department of Building and Safety.
Obtaining Blueprints For Your Home—LA County Jurisdiction: Unfortunately, California State Law only requires the County to keep commercial and some multi-family structural plans. The Public Works Department therefore only keeps single family residential plans during construction and discards them 90 days after completion of the work. Your best hope to find the as-built plans for your home is to contact the builder, designer, and/or engineer. If you don't know who this is, you may be able to find out by contacting Public Works and viewing the file for your home. (I was able to do so after the Northridge Earthquake.) Given this disaster, and the many others that happen in California, resulting in the destruction of many homes, this law needs to be changed.
Search Online Building Records—LA Department of Building and Safety. The following types of records are available from LADBS: Building Permits (from 1905 to present); Certificates of Occupancy (from 1940 to present); Range Files (violations); Plot Plans; Geology/Soils Reports; Affidavits/ZIs; Approved Building Plans; Board Files; Administrative Approvals; Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical (from 1985 to 1990 and from 1996 to present).
Why removing fire-damaged concrete is critical to rebuilding safely (Video): LA County Public Works' Chris Sheppard, P.E., explains why removing fire-damaged concrete is critical to rebuilding safely.
Mayor Bass Issues Executive Order To Speed Rebuilding: Key provisions (abridged--see webpage for details) relating to Expedited Permit Review—City to conclude all initial building permitting reviews required for reconstruction projects within 30 days following the submission of a complete application; to the extent practicable, all required reviews and approvals shall be conducted simultaneously, not sequentially, by all City Departments so as to meet the 30 day time period; inspections by the Department of Building and Safety shall be conducted within 2 business days of a submitted request.
LA County Public Works: 6 Steps To Rebuilding—Clear Debris/Financing/Prepare Plans/Obtain Permit/Construct & Inspect/Move In. (Info was for Woolsey Fire, but same steps for Palisades Fire)
LA Building & Safety: How to obtain copy of blueprints for your home or business. Also available: Building Permits (from 1905 to present). Certificates of Occupancy (from 1940 to present), Range Files (violations), Plot Plans, Geology/Soils Reports, Affidavits/ZIs, Approved Building Plans, Board Files, Administrative Approvals, Electrical, Plumbing, Mechanical (from 1985 to 1990 and from 1996 to present)
Housing
Airbnb: Airbnb.org offers temporary housing to people impacted by Los Angeles wildfires
Airbnb Housing Application
Disaster APPS
Watch Duty (on APP Store): Wildfire maps and realtime alerts sent directly to your phone (enable notifications)
Watch Duty: Video on how it works.
LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES
Jacqui Irwin, Assemblymember, District 42: Website contains Palisades Fire Updates and Evacuation Center Information
Congressman Brad Sherman, 32nd Congressional District: Website contains important Wildfire Recovery Links
Traci Park, LA City Councilwoman, 11th District: No wildfire information on her website as of today’s posting
Articles With Helpful Information
Architectural Digest: If LA Wildfires Damaged Your Home, Here’s Everything You Should Know