Living through a ‘low-attention disaster,' Mountain Fire survivors recover in LA's shadow
SOMIS, Calif (AP) — The ashes of Hatim Naim's burned home lie just a few dozen miles west of the Los Angeles areas destroyed by January's Palisades and Eaton fires.
But because the Mountain Fire, which destroyed 182 houses and other structures in Ventura County last November, was not a federally declared major disaster, recovery for Naim and his community looks different than it does for their Los Angeles neighbors.
They can't access the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) programs available to those impacted by the LA fires. Nor have they benefited from anything close to the hundreds of millions of philanthropic dollars pouring into LA.
The husband and father of three said it stings not to get the same level of help.
'They have their cutoffs for where they declare their disaster, but it's still a disaster for me,' said Naim, 60. 'I lost everything.'
Those impacted by the Mountain Fire are regularly reminded of the contrast. There is no federal funding for disaster case managers, legal services, or mental health programs. Survivors don't qualify for quick cash relief for essential items, temporary housing assistance, or up to $43,600 to repair or replace homes. Small things — like extensions to file federal taxes or waived fees to replace passports — aren't available.
'We kind of feel like we're the forgotten fire a little bit,' said Keith McNett, whose Camarillo home a few miles south of Naim's also burned.
Officials and nonprofit leaders in the largely agricultural county of 835,000 people worry there aren't enough resources to help residents with long term recovery.
'The low-attention disasters are the toughest because then it really comes down to what are the resources you can locally marshal,' said Anne Whatley, facilitator for the Ventura County Long Term Disaster Recovery Group.
That's a challenge experts say more communities might experience if the Trump administration dismantles or overhauls FEMA, options both the president and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have floated in recent months.
Compounding disasters
The Ventura County Long Term Disaster Recovery Group, Interface 211 Ventura County, and the Ventura County Community Foundation (VCCF) have been supporting the roughly 750 people impacted. They distributed up to $2,750 per household for immediate needs. But raising funds for long-term recovery has been difficult.
'The dollar amount that's needed, philanthropy really can't compete with,' said Vanessa Bechtel, VCCF executive director.
After devastating fires ravaged the county in 2017 and 2018, the foundation gave households as much as $75,000 to help rebuild. This time, it's contending with donor fatigue and waning attention. 'The difference between what we did for households for the FEMA wildfires is night and day,' said Bechtel.
The region's already squeezed rental market is even more strained after the LA fires, so aid partners are focusing on helping families with deposits and first month's rent. 'The only thing available is way more expensive than what they had before,' said Whatley.
With no federally supported disaster case management program, families are guided by volunteers. Whatley asked national nonprofits activating in LA if they could join case management trainings there. 'We're hoping we can kind of piggyback,' she said.
Soaring rebuild costs
To rebuild, Naim had no other option but to take out a $600,000 loan from the Small Business Administration (SBA). He canceled his insurance policy after the annual premium reached $19,000. 'If I paid them $19,000, I think they would have raised it to $40,000,' he said.
His premium with California's insurer of last resort, the FAIR plan, nearly doubled too. 'We did not want to pay the money because we thought, 'It's going to be the same story: Next year it's going to double,'' he said. He canceled four months before the fire.
As insurance becomes harder to obtain and afford in the state, the number of Californians on the FAIR plan has more than doubled since 2020, to 555,000 policies. But even those with ample coverage are concerned it won't be enough with the soaring costs of labor and material, now exacerbated by the Trump tariffs.
'The numbers being thrown around are just so crazy,' said Rachel McNett. She and her husband Keith McNett got an SBA loan in case their insurance payout wasn't enough.
The McNetts fear that with more than 16,000 structures destroyed in LA County, they'll have to compete for resources to rebuild. 'My heart goes out to everybody, but it's just a new worry,' said Rachel McNett.
Calls for support
Former FEMA officials say it would be impossible for the agency to aid in every disaster.
'We'd be broke as a nation,' said Peter Gaynor, a former FEMA administrator during the first Trump administration.
He estimates that one in four disasters get a federal declaration, a decision based on economic formulas and whether states and their local counterparts have the resources and capacity to respond.
'Even though it may appear traumatic to the community, the numbers aren't there,' he said.
It's up to state and local resources to respond in those cases, but how much help they provide varies.
'Disasters that are beyond the capability of the local government to address and less severe than the federal government would support — that is an area with a lot of potential pain,' said Chris Smith, who directed FEMA's Individual Assistance program from 2015 to 2022 and is now with disaster management firm IEM.
County Supervisor Jeff Gorell, whose district encompasses the Mountain Fire zone, said his community needs more help from the state. He's asked California Gov. Gavin Newsom to extend some of the same accommodations made for those impacted by the LA fires, like suspending certain permitting requirements.
'I recognize the massive scale of the LA fires, but really in many ways they're connected,' said Gorell. 'We're in the same family of devastation.'
Gorell also asked the state to fully reimburse the county for its debris removal program. It otherwise pays 25% of the cost, which he estimates to be $5-$7 million. 'That would be devastating for us,' he said.
A spokesperson for the governor's office of emergency services said that while accommodations like environmental permitting waivers don't apply to the Mountain Fire, the state has provided support through securing federal resources to help with firefighting, opening a local assistance center and giving technical assistance on debris removal.
In January, Ventura County's board of supervisors endorsed a bill introduced by Assemblymember Jessica Caloza of Los Angeles to create a state individual assistance program for when FEMA assistance is not available. Several states have individual assistance programs, including Arkansas, Iowa and Alaska.
'Feeling so impotent to be able to help when FEMA doesn't step in, this seemed like a logical thing to do, to support the creation of a similar program,' said Gorell.
Community-led recovery
Nearly six months into their recovery, Mountain Fire households have been aided by neighborly support. Over 800 local donors contributed to the community foundation. The nonprofit Local Love Project regularly hosts a popup 'store' offering free essentials. Past fire survivors offer rebuilding advice.
VCCF and its partners are organizing the faith community to 'adopt' households, helping them as needs arise. It's a previously untapped resource, said Bechtel. 'We start to have to be really creative in how we help people.'
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Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of AP's philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
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