This is a list I put together based on what I wish I’d known or done from the beginning to help keep my info and files more easily and quickly accessible. Claims can take years, this will provide some help to keep your personal life and post-fire necessities separate.

Resources at the bottom will be updated regularly. Feel free to share this list with others and to reply back to me with additional helpful information.

I’m sorry you’re going through this. You are NOT alone. You’ll find an incredible community, love and support throughout this challenging journey.  

Things to do/know now:

  1. With most reputable insurance, the moment you are evacuated, your coverage kicks in. Some home insurances will deposit cash to your account via ACH for immediate expenses once you reach them. Call and advise them as soon as you’re in a safe place.
  2. Create a new email account and use only this email address for ALL communication regarding your home. Use only this as your only communication method for:

  • your insurance (home and any other policies, just call them and have them change your email for this claim)
  • inquiries, communication, quotes with ANY potential/vendors.
  • real estate agent/rental company/contacts
  • any government agencies  
  • literally, anything relating to this loss and anything having to do with you having a different situation moving forward and until you have a new permanent home and are legally settled.
  1. Use a clean/separate credit card for ALL charges starting immediately. Use this card for all of the charges you expect (or aren’t sure) to be reimbursed for eventually. If you have a preferred card, have them issue you another one with a different number so you can still rack up your preferred points.

  1. Use google maps to log your mileage from the moment you evacuated until you get settled. It’s not realistic to log your miles unless you already have an app for this. Just keep a list on your phone or in all of your vehicles of where you go to/from. Start an excel file and every few days or so, add your trips and mileage. This is reimbursable.

  1.  If you don’t already have a Google Voice number, get one and use only this for any new inquiries. Once you’ve approved/decided on reps, vendors, etc then you can switch to your preferred number.

  1. Secure a home. Assume at least 1 year, but if you plan to rebuild, it will be more like 2-5yrs depending on where you live. Consider commutes to work/school/airports/pets, etc.
  • It’s your insurance’s responsibilities to replace like for like. Find a home that as as close to equivalent as possible, but most importantly one that will fill what you need for at least a year, or several months if you need to reevaluate your next living area. Push for a solid answer on your allotted budget, our original given amount was a range and much lower than what we actually could get and get covered. A good agent will provide comps of your lost/damaged home’s current rental value, THIS is what your rental/lease budget should be.
  • Locations with massive destruction will have limited availability. Secure a home as soon as possible.
  • Your repair and/or build WILL take longer than you think. We thought we could be back in 3mos with a few things outstanding. NOPE. It took 3 mos just for our insurance to agree to all of the repairs their adjuster had not caught, that our contractor did catch.
  • Smoke damage is not only uncomfortable, it is incredibly unhealthy. If your home was spared and others around you were lost, for the sake of your health, you should not be at your home until all of the toxicity of your neighborhood is cleared. Speak with a 3rd party adjuster (even as a consult) to get professional language and understanding on:
  • How deep your cleaning needs to be (replacement of beds/pillows/soft furniture/carpet/rugs/curtains. Professional cleaning of walls and repainting painting all interior, etc)
  • And WHEN this should be done. Your ins likely wants you back in asap. This is NOT in your health’s best interest, physically or emotionally. Being surrounded by all that toxicity and horrible landscape is…tough. I realized later there was no point to hurry up and clean, when all of that toxic material is being stirred up all around you.  

  1. With most full coverage insurance, BOARDING your pets is reimbursable. Consider that our pets feed off of our nervous energy. Most don’t do well in hotel rooms. If your pup is social, consider boarding that has outdoor playful spaces. I’ve recommended one below in Additional Information Section

  1. Secure a car rental if you lost your car(s). Rentals will go quickly. Many insurances cover for (at least) 30 days.

  1. In Los Angeles, KNX AM radio is reliable and not dependent on cell/internet.

  1. FEMA, once again, has a glitch in their system that automatically “disqualifies” people who have insurance. THIS IS A GLITCH. It’s very possible you still qualify for assistance. I’ll update info once I learn how to get around it if they don’t fix it soon. UPDATE 01/15: You may still qualify, however, FEMA requires applicant first file a claim with their insurance before FEMA provides more than a standard stipend.

Things to do as soon as you’re able:

  1. Cancel all of your subscriptions for physical deliveries and online memberships pertaining to equipment at home, etc. (Amazon subscriptions, supplements, medical equipment or Rx, internet, cable, gym/online fitness programs, water/air filters, beauty, fashion, etc).

  1. If you haven’t already, lock up your credit with the three major credit bureaus (or do so immediately after securing a home & separate credit card). Do so for your entire family, including children. Scammers are already pouncing.

  1. Apply 3rd party authentication on all sensitive logins, including banking, CC, PayPal, VenMo, etc.  

  1. Get a free membership to LastPass, or another password security site. Update all of your terrible or sequential passwords to real ones that would be a pain were it not for services like LastPass where you just remember one good password and then everything else is a secure password and not easy for hackers to guess.

  1. This is a tough one. Make a video as soon as you’re able of each individual family member, an individual video for each of you, and your kids when/if you feel it’s appropriate and/or they’re up for it. Do not hold back. Share that you’re still processing. Allow yourself to grieve, be sad, disappointed, confused, angry. Share everything from learning of the fire to not knowing enough info (power, communication cut off, etc) to decision to evacuate to experience evacuating. Alternatively, you can write down your experience. I understand if it feels too raw right now, but please film your feelings, even a shorter version (while writing a longer version) when you can.

  1. If your home was damaged and not a total loss, have a TRUSTED contractor evaluate your home for damage. Insurance claim adjusters are NOT experts in construction. It was the best thing we did to have a trusted contractor go over our entire home. Our claim went up 400% over what our original adjuster had stated. There were so many things he missed, not because he’s saving insurance money (benefit of doubt here), but because he missed a lot - construction is not their expertise. Alternatively, get an adjuster. Because we knew our contractor, he basically acted as ours. If you use an adjuster, be sure it’s a reputable one. Don’t be afraid to say no to something that sounds outlandish ($5k for someone to take drone pictures of my property? No, thanks). Be sure you understand their fees, how they get paid, who pays them, and when they’re paid.

  1. As you plan your repair and/or rebuild, SBA loans is a fantastic source. I quickly learned it’s not just for businesses. Application approvals come with a lower than current typical rate attached when you receive your offer. Wonderful. But don’t stop there. Submit an appeal for a lower rste.

SUPPORT

Incredible online resources: 

  • ACCEPT ASSISTANCE. This is a challenge for many. Yes, there is always someone, some family, that you can say “needs it more” — so do you right now. Just say yes and thank you.
  • After the Fire - 501c3 with comprehensive list after a major fire
  • If you had a claim previous to this (Jan 2025) fire, Biden has recently signed a bill that relieves federal taxes for people who have settled a claim due to a natural disaster. The IRS has not yet provided forms or directions on how to get these taxes back (as of Jan 2025) so check back in with your CPA on this.
  • Look for or start Facebook groups within your city or immediate community. It takes our village. Begin a group and rally some of those incredible do-ers in our community  to help monitor and manage the site together. Based on city guidelines, neighborhoods, and local trustworthy vendors, helpful info is much better since procedures and contacts are so localized in our big city/county of Los Angeles. It’s ok to make groups private for security reasons, it just means getting support to manage the group. Or make a more public group but be sure to warn your members to not post personal, vulnerable information/details. We have to look out for non-savvy members.
  • Homes Lost in the Malibu Fires - group of people who lost their homes during a previous fire and share self-help knowledge with one another; from debris clearance to insurance claim handling. For security reasons, this group may be open only to locals (Malibu/Palisades). It was began during Woosley Fire and continues now with the latest fires. .
  • Malibu Emergency & Disaster Group - for security purposes, this is open only to Malibu residents. For access, friend and request via Dominick Oliveri 

As of Jan 9, 2025, confirmed offers (check business customer service for updates):

  • Ask any hotel or service or store if they are offering discounts to evacuees.
  • Just Food for Dogs offering 50% off their shelf-sustainable dog food.
  • Amtrak offering $10 fares between SLO & San Diego. Tix must be purchased by Friday, 1/17 and travel booked up to  Jan 24, 2025. Use code V505  
  • Uber thru 1/25/25 free ride(s) upto $40 each for evacuees promo code: WILDFIRE25. It may only be to/from active shelters. Pls check Uber for details.
  • Lyft thru 1/25/25 valid Two (2qty) free ride(s) upto $25 each for out 15,000 uses. Promo code: CAFIRERELIEF25
  • Planet Fitness thru 1/15/25 access to locker rooms, showers, outlets, WiFi
  • UHaul is offering 30 days of free storage to those directly affected by the fire. See here for details and locations.

Legal Support Tips:

  • Via Pepperdine Law: We at the Pepperdine legal clinic are going to have a clinic at St. Aidan's next Saturday, Jan. 18, at 10:00 and Sunday, Jan. 19, at 1:00 to assist with FEMA applications and appeals. I'll be hosting a session to understand FEMA procedures, applications and appeals Tuesday night online: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdFBmiDkG02Ve803KS6zzC-RpIJnZqwW-75Xe6uSiX_CES5Pw/viewform?usp=sharing
  • Do not rush committing to an attorney for restitution. Be sure the firm you hire has specific experience in fire recovery. Also, the firm that represented us in Woolsey offered a lower than typical contingency rate. It ended up being about 21%. These latest Los Angeles fires will have even more firms offering their services, which means even more competition. Do not be pressured to sign quickly - that’s a red flag.
  • Check with trusted/experienced friends and neighbors for a referral with experience before committing. I am not personally suggesting any firms on this document for the sake of keeping this clean and transparent.  

Additional Tips:

  • Be very careful/selective when hiring any service providers/vendors. Our community had a bad experience with a “debris cleanup” vendor. Vet any company you hire and be sure they have a reputable history of business and expertise for your particular service. If you have insurance, see who they suggest, but get a direct referral if you can. Get the name of someone in that company who people have said is great. Be very weary of deposits and absolutely do not pay in full for any job up front. Also, use a credit card with purchase protection service and let the business know you’ll pay the cc service fee. If they don’t take cc, or refuse your offer to pay the credit card fee, that’s a big red flag for hiring that service provider.
  • In my experience, for Malibu/Palisades/Calabasas, etc, Diogi is a great place for boarding if your dog is social. They have locations in Santa Barbara, Oxnard, Agoura, Goleta as well.