advice for la on rebuilding
There is nothing like hearing from someone who has walked in your shoes, when it comes to disaster recovery. Post fires, Los Angeles will now be decades in the rebuilding that which was destroyed. Please see the LinkedIn posting below. This is from Brent Winder who has worked very closely in the work to help Christ Church recover from a large and very destructive earthquake. Last year I had him as a guest on my Disaster Zone Podcast Post Earthquake: Managing the Situation in Christchurch NZ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/post-earthquake-managing-the-situation-in-christchurch-nz/id1752742252?i=1000664479064 He had great advice that he shared there and now today, there is his advice for Los Angeles.
An Open Letter to the People of Los Angeles: The Road Ahead
Dad & Husband I Emergency Management Leader | Member Aoraki/Canterbury Conservation Board
February 18, 2025
An Open Letter to the People of Los Angeles: The Road Ahead
To the people of Los Angeles,
In the wake of devastation, as the dust begins to settle and the reality of what lies ahead becomes clearer, the hardest part of recovery is not the immediate aftermath—it's the long and potholed road ahead.
Having walked this journey before in Christchurch, New Zealand, and having seen it in other disaster-stricken cities, I want to offer you some hard-won lessons and a message of hope. Rebuilding your city is possible. Restoring your communities is possible.
It will require resilience, patience, and leadership at every level.
Living in a Worksite
The coming years will transform parts of Los Angeles into one of the largest demolition and construction zones in the world. Entire suburban blocks will be fenced off. Roads will be closed, reopened, and closed again at short notice. The sounds of demolition and reconstruction will be ever-present. Dust, noise, vibration, and disruption will become part of daily life. It will be frustrating, exhausting, and, at times, disheartening.
This is the price of progress. A well-managed recovery will mean prioritizing safety, minimizing hazards, and sequencing work to get people back into homes, infrastructure repaired, and businesses operating. You’ll become intimately familiar with the delicate balancing act required to restore normality while taking the opportunity to build back better.
In Christchurch, we learned that this process is never perfect—far from it—but commitment to a plan, honest communication, and strong, empathetic leadership at all levels makes all the difference.
The Difficult Truth About Insurance and Litigation
If you are frustrated by insurance claims now, know that the battle has only just begun. Insurance policies are not promises; they are contracts between two parties, and the ‘experts’ work for them. In Christchurch, thousands of homeowners and businesses faced long delays, conflicting policy interpretations, and legal challenges that stretched for years. Some cases remain unresolved—14 years after the event. It will be similar in LA.
Some settlements fell far short of what was needed to rebuild. Others were delayed by litigation that outlasted the businesses they were meant to protect.
One of the greatest challenges ahead is ensuring that insurance remains available and that disputes are resolved fairly and efficiently. It will be critical to push for strong, aligned leadership—both locally and nationally—to ensure insurance processes don’t derail recovery. For those already vulnerable, whether due to financial hardship, disability, or lack of resources to navigate the system, targeted support will be necessary.
It is a sad reality that the short-term impact of the fire may be small in comparison to the long-term impacts of the recovery. Prepare for this.
The Reality of Demolition and Rebuilding
The mass demolition and rebuilding effort about to get underway will have significant pros and cons.
The upside? You’ll eventually have a safer city with modernized infrastructure and stronger resilience against future disasters. The downside? The loss of familiar places, constant delays, and difficult emotional choices about what should be preserved versus what must be sacrificed.
There will be heartbreaking moments—when a cherished landmark is deemed too damaged to save, when an insurance policy only covers rebuilding ‘as was’ rather than ‘as needed.’ These moments will test you.
They will also define what kind of city Los Angeles becomes in the years ahead.
Mass rebuilds skew the construction market: expect higher prices, unscrupulous contractors, some shoddy repairs, and more litigation. Having a huge number of rebuilds all at the same time also changes the maintenance and renewals cycles, which will play out in future generations. But mass rebuilds also bring money, energy, and optimism.
The Trauma You Carry
Disaster recovery is not just about bricks and mortar—it is about people. Trauma studies from world-class experts show that recovery is never linear. Some people will push forward quickly. Others will struggle for years. Many will cycle through frustration, grief, exhaustion, and, eventually, acceptance and renewal. You may see all of these examples in one family as people individualize the experience and process it in their own way.
Recognizing this, you must care for each other. Those who can engage in the insurance, litigation, and rebuilding processes must also look out for those who cannot.
The recovery is not just about individual resilience—it is about collective strength.
Leadership and Thought Leadership
Los Angeles has an opportunity to redefine what post-disaster recovery looks like in a major global city. This is not just about rebuilding—it is about reimagining.
How will you use this opportunity to create a city that is more resilient, more equitable, and more prepared for the challenges ahead?
Thought leadership will be critical. Those who have expertise in urban planning, disaster recovery, insurance reform, construction, community advocacy, and mental health must step forward—with ideas and action.
If you are in a position of leadership—formally or informally—your voice matters. Advocate for the policies, processes, and supports that will ensure a fair and effective recovery. Learn from those who have been through this before. Adapt their lessons to Los Angeles’s unique context.
A City Reborn
Recovery will take years, likely a generation or more.
At times, it will feel like progress is too slow, like the weight of bureaucracy and complexity is too much to bear. But if Christchurch, New Orleans, Kobe, and San Francisco have proven anything, it is that great cities can rise again.
Los Angeles, your road ahead is hard, but it is not impossible. Step by step, decision by decision, you can and will rebuild. And in the process, you have the opportunity to build not just a city that is restored—but one that is stronger, fairer, and better prepared for the future.
Seek out those who have experienced this before and can share their learnings to inform the journey ahead. Their insights can help you avoid pitfalls, accelerate solutions, and maintain hope in the face of setbacks.
You are not alone in this. Others have walked this path before—and Los Angeles will rise again.
