Weekly Palisades Fire Recovery Resource Update
September, 2026
Important Recovery Alerts This Week
Three updates to know: Disaster Case Management may end Sept. 30; FEMA rental assistance has an Oct. 9 deadline; and burn-scar residents should prepare now for winter flooding and debris-flow risks.
NEW / CHANGED — update these now
- URGENT: Disaster Case Management is scheduled to end September 30. CDSS still lists the 2025 LA wildfire Disaster Case Management Program as active and is currently accepting survivor inquiries at 833-775-3267, but the state notified providers that the FEMA-funded program is scheduled to terminate September 30, 2026 because federal funding has not been received. Survivors who still need a case manager should enroll or reconnect now, particularly anyone struggling with FEMA, SBA, insurance, housing or an unresolved recovery plan.
CDSS Disaster Assistance / Case Management - NEW: LA County “Navigating Inspections” rebuilding workshop — September 24, 1–3 PM. Public Works will walk rebuilders through inspections, requesting inspections through EPIC-LA, avoiding common delays and next steps, with live Q&A.
Register for the September 24 workshop - NEW: LA County Financial Clinic — free help for small businesses. Open through September 30 for LA County for-profit businesses with 100 or fewer employees and no more than $19 million in annual revenue. Wildfire-impacted and brick-and-mortar businesses receive priority for one-on-one assistance. Services include financial assessment, debt and credit counseling, capital readiness, loan packaging and financing referrals. Upcoming workshops include Sept. 8, Sept. 14 and Sept. 28.
LA County Financial Clinic — enroll here - NEW: Fire Recovery & Resilience Workforce opportunity. LA County has a temporary Marketing & Communications position for County residents 18+ who lost employment, income or work hours because of the 2025 fires. The broader program also offers temporary employment, training and supportive services.
Fire Recovery & Resilience Workforce Program - NEW burn-scar priority: prepare now for El Niño rains. LA County is warning that the 2026–27 storm season could bring heavier rain and increased flood, landslide and debris-flow risk, with burn scars particularly vulnerable. Residents should clear drainage, understand hillside/mudflow exposure, sign up for alerts and consider flood insurance now because policies can take at least 30 days to become effective. Public Works will connect residents with an engineer at 1-800-933-0930. Supervisor Horvath is hosting a virtual storm-preparedness town hall September 28 at 6 PM.
- NEW insurance development: LA County sued State Farm on August 31, alleging unlawful delays, underpayments and denials involving Eaton and Palisades claims. Separately, the California Department of Insurance’s examination found hundreds of claims-handling violations and CDI says it has recovered more than $280 million for Eaton and Palisades survivors through intervention with insurers. Anyone experiencing delay, underpayment, smoke-damage disputes or claim problems should file a formal CDI request for assistance at 800-927-4357.
California Department of Insurance wildfire claims help
Housing, FEMA and mortgage assistance — KEEP PROMINENT
FEMA Continued Temporary Housing Assistance: This is particularly urgent for renters. Eligible wildfire survivors who registered with FEMA before March 31, 2025 and remain displaced may still qualify for continued rental assistance. The current extension runs through October 9, 2026 for renters and July 9, 2027 for qualifying homeowners. Call FEMA at 800-621-3362.
FEMA housing assistance extension information
CalAssist Mortgage Fund: Still active and one of the strongest direct financial resources for homeowners. Eligible disaster-affected homeowners can receive up to 12 months of mortgage payments, capped at $100,000, with no repayment required. More than 1,100 survivors had already received assistance by May.
CalAssist Mortgage Fund
Mortgage Forbearance Act: Eaton and Palisades property owners may request forbearance of up to a year in 90-day increments. Requests must be made before the state emergency plus six months or January 7, 2027, whichever comes first.
LA County Mortgage Forbearance guidance
State Supplemental Grant Program: Worth adding if it is not already on the site. California may provide additional grant assistance for disaster needs not fully covered by FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program. There is no separate application: once a survivor has maximized FEMA IHP assistance, FEMA transmits eligible cases to the state. Questions: 800-759-6807.
Rebuilding and permitting
City of Los Angeles / Pacific Palisades: The City’s LA Strong rebuilding portal remains the best master link for permitting, planning, fee waivers, infrastructure and rebuild tools. The Palisades Inspections and Permitting Support Center, 16925 Marquez Ave., is open Monday–Friday, 9–5, along with the One-Stop Rebuilding Center at 1828 Sawtelle Blvd.
LA Strong — Pacific Palisades rebuilding
The City’s pre-approved standard-plan program continues to offer expedited review, and permit-fee collection remains suspended for eligible owners repairing or replacing wildfire-damaged property who owned their homes on or before January 7, 2025.
LADBS pre-approved rebuild plans
LA County rebuilding: For Palisades Fire properties in unincorporated areas, the County hub currently consolidates preapproved plans, manufactured homes, licensed-professional lists, self-certification, eCheck, Express Lane permitting, fee deferrals/refunds, debris assistance and temporary-house permits.
LA County rebuilding hub
County permit-fee relief: Qualifying owner-occupied single-family homes in unincorporated LA County can receive fee deferrals or refunds; there is currently no application deadline. Commercial, multifamily and non-owner-occupied rental properties generally do not qualify.
Soil testing & health
CHANGED last month but important to correct everywhere: LA County’s direct soil-testing program ended August 14 and transitioned to USC CLEAN on August 15. USC CLEAN is now the route for free post-fire soil-lead testing. LA County continues to maintain aggregate Eaton/Palisades soil-test results through its dashboard.
LA County soil-testing and USC CLEAN information
Free blood-lead testing remains available for residents of wildfire-impacted communities through medical providers or through Quest by calling 1-800-LA-4-LEAD.
Legal assistance
LAFLA: Free wildfire legal assistance continues. Most useful right now are the FEMA Appeals Workshops on September 15 and October 20, 3:30–6:30 PM, plus an October 8 Disaster Aid & Public Benefits workshop.
LAFLA Fire Recovery Resources
Neighborhood Legal Services of LA County: Still actively assisting 2025 wildfire survivors with FEMA/SBA issues, tenant rights, public benefits, unemployment and workers’ rights, health insurance, consumer protection and bankruptcy. Hotline: 800-433-6251.
NLSLA Disaster Assistance Project
Utilities & rebuilding incentives
LADWP: Billing has resumed for most affected customers, but destroyed properties are not billed for usage on or after January 7, 2025. LADWP also offers payment/financial-assistance options, start/stop service support and a dedicated instruction for burn-scar properties still without power: 1-800-DIAL-DWP.
LADWP Pacific Palisades recovery customer service
SoCalGas: Particularly worth highlighting before construction starts. Eligible Palisades-fire rebuilds may qualify for wildfire-specific energy-efficiency incentives; some residential rebuild incentives reach $10,000, and eligible appliance/equipment rebates for homes and businesses are enhanced by up to 50%. Some incentives require enrollment before construction begins, and enhanced rebates apply to purchases through Dec. 31, 2026.
SoCalGas wildfire rebuild program
Mental health & local recovery support
Palisades Fire Collaborative: LA County confirms in-person mental-health services are still available at 15247 La Cruz Drive, Monday–Friday, 9–5, including counseling, support groups, crisis stabilization and resource linkage. Fire Support Line: 833-659-0600; County 24/7 line: 800-854-7771.
LA County wildfire mental-health resources
Pali Long-Term Recovery Group / Pali Hub: This should be especially prominent given the threatened Sept. 30 end of federally funded case management. Pali LTRG currently connects Palisades survivors with Disaster Case Managers and recovery resources; the Pali Hub is at 15239 La Cruz Drive, Mon.–Fri. 9–5, 310-571-5561. Its September calendar currently includes SBA representatives, GEM case managers, counseling, construction consultations and other survivor services.
Pali LTRG — register for resources
A Sense of Home: A current in-kind resource that may be overlooked. The nonprofit can provide fire survivors with essential furniture and household goods based on need and available inventory.
Department of Angels: Keep as a regional recovery, policy and survivor-information partner rather than describing it as a direct-grant program. It continues to convene community, philanthropy and government, provide expert-informed resources and track survivor needs through its Community Voices work.
Department of Angels
After the Fire USA: Keep as a long-term recovery and rebuilding knowledge resource. Its LA work covering the Palisades + Eaton Fires is explicitly listed as “Active Recovery,” with ongoing guidance, peer-learning and community-to-community recovery support.
After the Fire USA — Los Angeles recovery
Recovery financing / CDFIs
Pacific Community Ventures — RESTORE LA Fund: OPEN. This is the strongest verified CDFI product I found still taking borrowers specifically for 2025 LA recovery: $10,000–$100,000, 3% interest, no fees, no minimum credit score, with technical assistance for impacted small businesses.
PCV RESTORE LA Fund
Clearinghouse CDFI — recovery capital remains designated. Bank of America provided it wildfire-recovery capital to finance nonprofit-led property acquisition/single-family development and to make capital available to small businesses whose rebuilding needs exceed insurance proceeds or who need funds to resume operations. I did not find a dedicated wildfire borrower application page this week, so I would list this as “contact for recovery financing,” not “apply for grant.”
TMC Community Capital — recovery financing continues, but application status needs care. Its current Small Business Strong recovery pathway includes grants, forgivable loans and microloans, and TMC says its Phase Two wildfire work provides larger forgivable loans to affected micro-entrepreneurs. I would link to TMC but avoid promising a specific wildfire award until an applicant confirms intake availability.
Lendistry Home Loans — COMING SOON, not yet an open application. The $20 million Disaster Recovery Mortgage Pilot is specifically designed for Palisades and Eaton homeowners, with lower liquidity requirements and more flexible cash-flow underwriting. Applications were announced as expected in early fall 2026, but the launch notice explicitly said applications were not yet open. This is worth a “Coming Soon / Sign up for updates” placement rather than “Apply Now.”
Jewish Free Loan Association: Not a wildfire grant, but still a strong recovery-financing resource: zero-interest, zero-fee personal/emergency loans up to $15,000 and small-business loans up to $50,000 for qualifying Southern California residents, with the organization still explicitly inviting fire-affected borrowers.
JFLA zero-interest assistance
REMOVED or mark CLOSED on the website
LA Rise & Renew Wildfire Recovery Grant — CLOSED. Applications closed August 31, 2026. Do not leave an “Apply” button active.
LA County Household Relief Grant — CLOSED. The household grant program that offered $6,000–$18,000 had a 2025 application period and is not currently open.
SBA disaster-loan applications — CLOSED for new applicants. This is an important wording change. The Palisades SBA Disaster Loan Outreach Center at Pali Hub, 15239 La Cruz Drive, M–F 8:30–5 remains open, but it is now for people who already applied and need help completing, advancing or resolving their SBA application.
PACE Small Business Emergency Relief Loan — NO LONGER ACTIVE. This is a change from the earlier resource list. PACE’s current lending page now explicitly says there are no active disaster or emergency loan programs at this time. Remove the $5,000 wildfire loan from any “available now” list.
One additional resource I would add to the website’s “Property Taxes” section: wildfire-impacted owners who could not make qualifying tax payments because of the fires can still seek penalty/interest relief; for approved requests, some qualifying taxes may be payable without penalties as late as June 30, 2030.