From the Advocate

By Tara Lynn Gray 

April 2025

Resilience Ready: Thriving Through the Uncertain Times

It’s been more than 100 days since devastating wildfires swept through two neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Two very different neighborhoods that are now united by the hard truth of needing to start over.

This is not the first large-scale disaster most Californians have witnessed. Yet each one feels just as shocking and heartbreaking as the last.

Maybe that’s Mother Nature’s way of reminding us of the importance of community, preparedness, and resilience.

Now that the first shock has worn off, I want to say thank you to our incredible network of small business support partners across greater Los Angeles and Ventura County, the front-line disaster support teams from the U.S. Small Business Administration and FEMA, and all the city and county agencies that have come together to support recovery efforts. The work doesn’t end when the flames are out. You, like our firefighters, are also heroes.

The Numbers: A Tough Reality

The Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation has released a report estimating total property damages for the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires between $28.0 billion and $53.8 billion. The report predicts that business disruptions within the fire perimeters will cause $4.6 billion to $8.9 billion in lost economic output in Los Angeles County over a five-year period (2025-2029), representing 0.3 to 0.6 percent of the county’s total economic output.

Insurance companies cover a portion of that…but only a portion.

Where does the rest come from? That’s where government assistance, community support, and resilient rebuilding come into play.

1 in 10 small employers in the U.S. face disaster impacts annually and 40% of those small businesses never reopen. Another 25% close within a year.

Why? Limited cash reserves (less than 27 days’ worth in many cases), restricted access to capital, and inadequate insurance coverage.

Only 17% have business disruption insurance, 16% are insured against flood, and 21% are insured against storm damage caused by heavy windows.

Businesses in urban areas like Los Angeles often bounce back faster thanks to stronger infrastructure, more diverse real estate markets, and better funding. But the truth is that it’s not fair to just expect everybody to bounce back the way we’d hope.

CalOSBA’s Role in Preparedness and Recovery

Our role at CalOSBA is to support our SCALE Network partners help small businesses make the best business decisions possible under the circumstances.

If you’re a business owner thinking, “I’ve never needed help before,” or “I have no idea what to do next,” that’s okay. Now’s the time to reach out.

Even after the federal agencies decamp, our small business support centers are there to provide no-cost 1:1 business advising. This is funded by your tax dollars; it’s foolhardy to not take advantage of this free counseling that can help you with everything from navigating insurance claims to supporting your employees to accessing capital to strategizing on how to rebuild…or, let’s face reality, if you should.

These can obviously be uncomfortable conversations with people already traumatized by loss and dislocation. But this is the role our partners play to support economic recovery after a disaster.

It’s easier to talk about the role we play in disaster preparedness, which we’re here to tell you isn’t optional—no matter how busy you are running your business day to day.

Our Outsmart Disaster program – in both Spanish and English –helps you both Prepare and Recover.

In the “blue skies” phase, we help businesses build resilience roadmaps—which you can think of as a playbook for handling future disruptions.

• Are you properly insured? (I can tell you the answer is Probably Not!)
• How many days can your business survive without cashflow?
• How would your employees get to safety if your business location is disaster-impacted?
• How will you communicate with your team if everyone is evacuated?
• Do you have your essential business documents secured? This could make the difference between getting a disaster loan and an insurance payout…or not.

In the “grey skies” phase, we are here to point you to essential recovery resources—whether or not you had a plan in place before.

Recovery isn’t just about buildings, it’s about people. These events are traumatic. Stay connected with friends, family, and fellow business owners, under blue and grey skies. Share your experiences, lean on each other, and learn from disaster survivors what preparedness actions they wish they’d taken.

We can’t predict when the next disaster will hit…and we can’t stop it.

But we can try to mitigate our risks by investing in resilience, personally, professionally, and as a community.

Stay safe. Stay strong. And remember, you’re not alone in this.

For more information:

2025 LA Wildfires and Comparative Study – Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation

Small Business Centers – California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA)

Outsmart Disaster