Rebuild:LA – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Send us a text

Our guest this week is Silvio Lanzas, the former Fire Chief for the City of Glendale, and the current Chief Operating Officer for the fire retardant manufacturer M-Fire. The company produces and applies a product called AF31 that is water-based and food-grade, and can be sprayed on houses, car batteries, and whole forests. It was invented more than 30 years ago in the UK, it’s made in Torrance, California, and it’s widely used throughout Asia. So why does no one know about it here in wildfire-ravaged California? It might have to do with the dominance in the marketplace of Phos-Check, the red stuff we’ve all seen flowing out of aircraft over wildfires. But Lanzas is trying to change that…one construction site, one EV battery and one house at a time.

Resources:

• M-Fire Technologies
• M-Fire Suppression
• Questions about AF31? Email asklanzas@mfiretechnologies.com

Send us a text

Five months after the Eaton Fire came charging out of the wildland and destroyed much of the historic city of Altadena, there are still hundreds of families who haven’t been able to return home or start the long process of recovering. This week’s guest says there is a correlation between a family’s insurance carrier, and their ability to recover their lives and rebuild their futures. Joy Chen is a former Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles, and the current CEO of the Multicultural Leadership Institute. But these days, she dedicates much of her time to the organization she co-founded, the Eaton Fire Survivors’ Network, and trying to get the insurance industry to pay out on the hundreds of claims coming from survivors. She believes there is a systematic approach of “delay, deny, discourage and underpay.”   She and others in the Eaton Fire Survivors’ Network are pressuring California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to investigate the claims process and freeze any proposed rate hikes. The details of her group’s mission are detailed in this week’s episode.

Resources:

• Eaton Fire Survivors’ Network
• Join Eaton Fire Survivors’ Network Discord
• Letter to California Insurance Commission Ricardo Lara
• New York Times Insurance Survey
• Sign up for Eaton Fire Survivors’ Network June 19th Podcast on Insurance Fraud
• Lawsuit Against Insurers

Send us a text

The second half of our conversation with Jon Brown brings him out of the ashes of the Palisades Fire, and right into a property fight with the owners of the mobile home park where he lived with his wife and two young kids. The Palisades Bowl was one of the last rent controlled neighborhoods in Los Angeles, and when the Palisades Fire swept through, nearly 400 people were left homeless. Those neighbors have come together to create the Palisades Bowl Community Partnership, to try and get recovery underway, with the final mission to rebuild the Park. Unfortunately, owners of the Park haven’t exactly been proactive, or even responsive. Jon discusses with host Cameron Barrett the road ahead, and how he and his neighbors might even try to buy the Bowl and rebuild their lives.

Resources:

• Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Home Park
• Jon Brown Real Estate

Send us a text

Jon Brown is one of the 400 residents of the Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Home Park that no longer has a neighborhood to go home to. All 170+ homes are gone, flattened by the Palisades Fire. Jon joins host Cameron Barrett for a two-part conversation about how he and his young family escaped the fire. But Jon’s story is bigger than just running from the fire. In fact, the fire was just the beginning of his fight. Jon’s story is one of resilience, leadership, and a relentless commitment to his neighbors. Across two episodes, he shares the emotional and logistical challenges of rebuilding after disaster, the fight against negligent property owners, and the power of a united community working together to return home. Part I is Jon’s survival story. Part II (available April 4th) is about the power of a united community working together to return home.

Resources:

• Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Home Estates
• Jon Brown Real Estate

Send us a text

Cameron Barrett’s guest this episode of Sean Scott, a contractor by trade, and the author of a book you want to get on your shelf as soon as possible. The Red Guide to Recovery is a spiral bound Bible for homeowner who is navigating a disaster, whether that’s something as personal a a burst pipe, or as catastrophic as the Eaton or Palisades Fires. It’s even a terrific resource for those who want to prepare for a potential disaster. MySafe:LA, and fire departments all over North America, have been handing out the book to survivors for more than a decade. Here’s the guide you’ve been waiting for to navigate insurance, avoid scams, clean up safely and much more.

Resources:

• The Red Guide to Recovery Website
• The Red Guide to Recovery on Amazon
• Secrets of the Insurance Game
• NFPA’s Most Home Fires Result from 5 General Causes
• Matterport Scan

Send us a text

So much has been written and said about the Palisades Fire, that it sometimes is confounding how the “other” fire that burned through a community in LA County in early January, goes unmentioned. The Eaton Fire started within hours of the Palisades Fire. It came roaring out of Eaton Canyon, in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, just 20 miles northeast of downtown LA, and destroyed thousands of homes and killed 17 people. That’s more death and destruction than the Palisades Fire. It leveled much of Altadena, a storied city filled with a century of African American history. The area had been a welcome home for Black professionals and creatives. The McFarland Family was among them. They lost everything in the fire. Pastor Anthony McFarland and his daughter Jessica Fernandez talk to host Cameron Barrett about their harrowing evacuation and survival. They have a lot of questions now that the fire is out, and are looking for answers. Hear their remarkable story on Rebuild:LA.

Resources:

• Eaton Fire Disaster Recovery
• History of Altadena
• Eaton Fire Damage Maps
• Abundant Harvest Christian Center
• Parlee Inc

Send us a text

Jim Kniss makes his living flying over wildfires, making GIS and infrared maps for firefighters. It's all pretty cutting edge technology. But what he's most passionate about is a little more old school. He's working to get Beacon Boxes into rural neighborhoods in fire-prone areas of California. He and the team at FireMapper, LLC have already installed dozens in Beverly Hills, Agoura Hills and Malibu, with more going in to Chatsworth, Bell Canyon and Malibu Lake. Beacon Boxes are like old-timey fireboxes from the last century, but with some very high tech tools inside. Kniss sits down with host Cameron Barrett to talk about what's in Beacon Boxes, why every rural community in California needs them, and who accessed them in Malibu during the Palisades Fire. Spoiler Alert - no one knows! But maybe you can help us find out.

Resources:

• FireMapper, LLC
• Beacon Boxes

Send us a text

Dr. Chris Potter calls it VERM, or vegetation ember index. He’s an earth scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, and he’s developed a new mapping product that shows VERM areas. And VERM areas are those places most vulnerable to fire. In other words, he and his research team are predicting the next place a destructive wildfire will strike. The product is free because it’s produced by NASA and paid for with federal tax dollars. But like so many scientific initiatives funded by the federal government, there’s a chance it will soon hit the chopping block. Dr. Potter sits down with host Cameron Barrett to talk about the VERM maps, what we can learn from them, and how we can use them to mitigate a wildfire before it even starts. 

Resources:

• NASA's Ames Research Center
• NASA
• Ember Risk Modeling

Send us a text

Monday, March 31, 2025 (an extended date) is an important deadline if you’ve been effected by the Eaton or Palisades fires. That’s when you have to register for FEMA benefits if you’ve had losses. It’s also the deadline to register for SBA loans from the Federal Government. These are the kinds of details Joel Wish and his disaster recovery experts make sure their clients don’t miss. He’s the founder and CEO of Bright Harbor, a disaster recovery company based in Austin, Texas. He started the company two years ago, and it’s busier than ever. That’s because disasters are coming more frequently and more destructively than ever before. Host Cameron Barrett sat down with Wish to find out more about what survivors of the Eaton and Palisades Fires need to be managing right now as we enter the recovery phase of the most destructive fires in California history.

Resources:

• Bright Harbor
• FEMA Disaster Assistance
• SBA Loans

Send us a text

Sue Pascoe, her husband, and their two dogs evacuated the Palisades Fire on January 7, 2025 with a couple of overnight bags and the dogs' food bowls. They'd evacuated plenty of times before. This would be like the last few times. They'd be back home the next day. But by the next day, her home was gone. Like thousands of other families, the Pascoes lost everything. Sue is a journalist for the online newspaper Circling the News. Her press credentials got her inside the barricades before the public was given access. What she saw, and what she learned in her reporting has made her very angry. Her story is eye opening and wrenching.

Resources:

• Circling the News
• KTLA's News Story "Firefighters kept from front lines due to unserviced LAFD vehicles"
• How Much Will It Cost to Rebuild Los Angeles?
• FEMA Assistance for those Effected by the Wildfires