In the wake of the Los Angeles fires in January 2025, AIAs in California collaborated to produce a roadmap to rebuilding for neighbors, clients, and communities who had lost their homes. The resulting guide–authored, compiled, and edited by licensed architects, and other industry professionals in Southern California–the “Disaster Recovery Guide: How to Approach Rebuilding”–collects what we know, and what we have learned, to support the public recovering after a major disaster.

The guide is primarily intended to help homeowners and residential property owners understand the rebuilding process. While some information may also apply to businesses or commercial properties, the examples and resources included focus mainly on residential rebuilding.

For our neighbors and our communities, we hope that the “Disaster Recovery Guide: How to Approach Rebuilding” offers easy-to-use documentation of the process ahead.