LA’s postfire community spirit
The Los Angeles area has begun to clean up debris from the January wildfires that destroyed more than 12,000 homes. Public utilities are being restored. Homeowners are starting negotiations with insurance companies. Yet amid the recovery, something else has stirred: a spirit of generosity within communities. Some in LA now wonder if the trust and compassion forged during the tragedy can be reflected in the way that neighborhoods and other public spaces are rebuilt.
One example of this postfire spirit is a new charitable foundation, Steadfast LA. It not only plans to speed the restoration and prevent a similar calamity but also work with schools and churches to help such gathering places reinforce the newly formed bonds.
That is a key lesson being offered to Los Angeles by residents in Northern California who survived the Tubbs wildfire in 2017. At the time, the fire in Sonoma County was the most destructive in California history. The city of Santa Rosa, for example, lost 5% of its housing stock. In January, many who led the city’s recovery have rushed to assist LA as well as offer advice.
The people of Santa Rosa “would say that, in some ways, their communities emerged stronger: safer from fire and more closely knit,” the Los Angeles Times reported last month.
After the fire in Santa Rosa, neighborhoods set up “block captains” to organize the recovery. Neighbors met weekly to support each other and share ideas. Rebuilding parks, playgrounds, and other public spaces became essential to fostering the new generosity. People took more interest in how sidewalks, public art, memorials, and streetlights contribute to gathering spots.
“People learned much about themselves during and after the calamity, often discovering previously untapped reserves of courage, patience, generosity and other qualities,” concluded The Press Democrat, a Santa Rosa newspaper, in 2022. No wonder they now want to share those reserves with the people of Los Angeles.
