Three Years After the Marshall Fire: Lessons for Los Angeles 

When Alison Fox moved from Denver to Los Angeles in early May 2024 to jump-start her career working in the film industry, she knew it wasn’t going to be easy. What Fox didn’t know is that one of her biggest challenges yet in Los Angeles would be entirely out of her control: wildfires.

As fires roared across the Los Angeles metro area, thousands of lives, including Fox’s, have been radically changed. More than 12,000 structures burned down due to ongoing fires across the area, with families losing their homes and all their possessions. 27 people have died to date and there are still at least 22 missing.

Fox stayed safe and didn’t evacuate due to the fires, but the mental toll the fire has taken on her and her fellow Angelenos shouldn’t be understated.

“The city [of Los Angeles] itself is very, very tense,” Fox said. “Countless people have lost their jobs and businesses, which is just such a hard thing to see.”

Locally, it’s hard not to draw comparisons to the Marshall Fire that ravaged Boulder County over New Year’s 2022.

“I luckily wasn’t near the Marshall Fire, but I remember watching on TV and seeing it all happen on New Year’s Eve,” Fox said.  “I remember feeling so devastated for the people who lost everything. It’s very similar to what’s happening in LA.”

Both the Los Angeles and Marshall Fires affected major metro areas, causing immense destruction and loss. That begs the question: what can Fox and more than 18 million other Los Angeles residents learn from the aftermath of the Marshall Fire about the road to recovery and what to expect going forward?

Allison James, the town of Superior’s Disaster Preparedness and Recovery Manager, knows that road all too well. Tasked with handling the aftermath of the Marshall Fires that ravaged the Boulder County, James has been spearheading Superior’s efforts to rebuild in the wake of tragedy. 

James’ job hasn’t been easy. Her work involves helping victims get funding to build new houses after their old ones burned down, facilitating the removal of debris from the affected sites and even turning off power for houses that have been burned down. Despite the nightmare of logistics that fires bring along with them, James says that’s not the most difficult part of rebuilding a community.

“I think the human component is probably the most challenging part of the rebuilding efforts because there have been people that have experienced such trauma and experienced such loss,” James said. “You really, really want to help and do everything you can, but it’s not 100%.”

James’ biggest advice to victims of the fires in Los Angeles is to make yourself known to the closest local disaster assistance centers. Towns across the nation have staff like James who are dedicated to helping victims of fires and natural disasters get their lives back on track.

“My advice to [the fire victims in Los Angeles] would be to go to your local distance assistance center and get all those processes in,” said James. “When you go to a disaster assistance center where all these resources are, that’s how you are continually identified for different funding that’s rolling out.”

Outside of funding, James says a disaster assistance center is a good place to address immediate needs after losing your home, including finding food, shelter and recovery of burnt or lost personal documents.

“If you’ve lost any documents, if you need to turn off your electricity or water to your home that is now gone, you can get that done there,” James said. “You’re able to get housing, help with financial aid like quick credit cards for food or hotel vouchers, clothing; they’ll have a whole system set up. That’s really the beginning of trying to get funding or assistance.”

Another important piece of advice James has for fire victims is to get in contact with United Policyholders when it comes to fire insurance. Many major insurance companies, State Farm and Allstate, stopped issuing fire insurance in Southern California in 2023. This has left many victims without insurance and on their own.

“If people are underinsured, you’re eventually going to want to think about the contents of your home,” James said. “Make sure to check out United Policyholders when it comes to your insurance because they can really help.”

Superior has been busy in the wake of the Marshall Fire, having cleared 398 charred lots and issuing 312 rebuilding permits for victims to start new on the land of their old houses, but the destruction and devastation felt by the community are still undeniable. 

“No one will ever truly be whole after this and I think that’s the hardest part,” said James. “You can’t fix the pets that have been lost and all the memories in those homes, and the two lives that were lost. You can never, ever fix that.”

Although victims of the Marshall and Los Angeles fires share a sense of grief and loss, they also share a tremendous resilience. Fox and her fellow Angelenos are persevering through their hardships, rallying to collect donations to help everyone they possibly can. 

“Everyone here is looking for ways to help, which is something extremely beautiful to see,” Fox said. “Everyone is coming together to help with everything. I have a massive bag of clothes that I don’t want anymore and my neighbor gave me some of his clothes too to donate.”

Despite the pain that Los Angeles has endured, Fox believes it’s bringing out the best in the community. “There’s been so many donation centers and so many volunteer areas,” Fox said. “People are really, really putting a lot of effort into this and it’s beautiful. Sometimes, with such pain and devastation, beautiful things can come out of it.”

In her work, James has observed the same level of resilience from the local Superior community. Despite the hardships they’ve endured over the last three years, the community is returning and is ready to help rebuild.

“I think [the Superior community] is awesome,” James said. “We have super resilient people that are coming and don’t want to live anywhere else. They volunteer. They’re in our committees and commissions volunteering. They’re in our community center here helping during the week. They make [Superior] such a great place to live and such a great place to come back to.”

The blueprint for rebuilding provided by James and the victims of the Marshall Fire puts community first and foremost, which is something that Fox and the Southern California community have leaned into fully. Fox knows the road to rebuilding is going to be difficult but knows her community can handle it, just as they did in Boulder County three short years ago.

“I’ll tell you one thing: it’s going to take quite a while to rebuild,” Fox said. “I think LA can fully rebuild and rebuild better than ever. I think we’re going to come together to make our city even more beautiful. We’re going to be okay.”

Those looking to donate can learn more here through the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation. Fox’s personal fundraiser for LAFD can be found here.