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Black History Month 2025

Disaster Recovery Center opens at UCLA Research Park to aid LA County fire victims

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass smiles at an event opening a new Disaster Recovery Center. UCLA donated part of the new UCLA Research Park – formerly Westside Pavilion – to establish the Federal Emergency Management Agency center. (Maggie Konecky/Daily Bruin)

By Maggie Konecky and Sam Mulick

Jan. 16, 2025 5:04 p.m.

Correction: The original version of this article misspelled Jane Faulkner’s name in a sentence. Also, the original version of a photo caption for this article incorrectly stated that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass spoke to UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk at a Tuesday evening opening of the Disaster Recovery Center. In fact, Bass spoke to Frenk at a Tuesday morning press conference before the opening of the Disaster Recovery Center.

This post was updated Jan. 17 at 7:05 p.m.

A Disaster Recovery Center opened Tuesday at the UCLA Research Park to assist victims of the Los Angeles County wildfires.

The center assists those who were affected by the fires in recovering lost records, applying for disaster relief loans and being referred to counseling services. It will be run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in collaboration with local city and county governments.

A sign outside the Disaster Recovery Center is pictured. (Maggie Konecky/Daily Bruin)

Located two miles from campus, UCLA Research Park, formerly Westside Pavilion, was bought by the university in December 2023 and eventually intends to use it to house the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy and the UCLA Center for Quantum Science and Engineering.

[Related: UCLA set to acquire former Westside Pavilion mall]

Multiple fires have affected neighborhoods around the county, with fires in the Pacific Palisades, Pasadena and Altadena, and Sylmar burning over 38,000 acres, according to the California Department of Fire and Forestry website. The recovery center aims to begin providing long-term solutions to residents who have lost their homes, businesses and properties as they begin to rebuild their lives and communities.

As of 10:00 a.m. Thursday there are no evacuation warnings or orders in place for the UCLA campus.

[Related: LIVE: JANUARY 2025 FIRES]

in a speech at the center’s opening, LA Mayor Karen Bass thanked UCLA and its chancellor, Julio Frenk, for their work in opening the center and for donating the space.

“This is a wonderful facility where people can come,” she said in a Tuesday press conference at the facility. “This facility is obviously for the people from everywhere but especially the Palisades and Hurst fires.”

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass speaks to UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk at a Tuesday morning press conference before the opening of the Disaster Recovery Center. (Maggie Konecky/Daily Bruin)

The center, which opened at 1 p.m. Tuesday, served more than 140 households impacted by the wildfires in its first 6 1/2 hours open, according to a press release from the mayor’s office. A later statement said the center served over 360 households Wednesday that were impacted by the fires.

Bass has faced scrutiny from community members and public officials over her handling of the recent fires, including lowering funding for the Los Angeles Fire Department in the city’s 2024-2025 budget and for being in Ghana as part of a presidential delegation when the fires initially broke out.

[Related: Karen Bass faces scrutiny for wildfire response, LAFD budget cuts]

Frenk said UCLA experts are stationed at the center to assist members of the community who are in need.

“I’m very proud that UCLA is donating this space to both the federal agencies like FEMA and to the city and county of Los Angeles to help families and individuals as we start the recovery process,” he said in an interview at the opening. “We’re still in the emergency, but it is time now to start going to the recovery phase.”

Frenk added that UCLA is prepared in the case of a campus evacuation but is hoping the plans they have put in place will not have to be activated. The UCLA Office of Emergency Management previously said they were working with emergency services to monitor the situation on campus. 

[Related: New evacuation warning for Palisades fire borders UCLA campus]

UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk speaks to a worker at the Disaster Recovery Center, which the university donated space to create. (Maggie Konecky/Daily Bruin)

La-Tanga Hopes, a FEMA public affairs specialist, said the center can provide aid to anyone affected by the fires, including college students who support themselves financially. The center can help coordinate with home repairs, personal item recovery and replacing lost personal documents, she added.

“We’re working with a whole community approach,” Hopes said. “Not only will you be able to get help from FEMA, but our wonderful state representatives are also here.”

Jane Faulkner, who lost her home in Pacific Palisades to a fire, said the recovery center helped her replace her driver’s license and social security card, apply for unemployment benefits and learn information about her taxes.

Although Faulkner was not originally sure if she could get support at the center, she said she had “wonderful conversations” with FEMA relief workers. 

Jenny Delwood, Bass’s deputy chief of staff, said a UCLA asset management team was on site the day after the mayor’s office reached out. The center will be housed at Research Park for at least 30 days and will remain as long as it is needed, she added.

“They’ve been amazing partners in providing everything from additional lighting to security to help make sure this program of providing services from the city, state, federal and county governments comes together in a way that truly is a one-stop shop for our survivors,” Delwood, a former Undergraduate Students Association Council President said in a Wednesday interview.

Bass said in the Tuesday press conference that she was emotionally moved by someone at the center who came to volunteer even after losing her 44-year home in the Palisades fire.

James Featherstone, the director of the emergency operations center, said the center had over 70 government agencies and nonprofit organizations working at it. The center is operating at its highest level of activation as fires continue to burn in Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Sylmar.

“What you see here today is an example of a unified approach,” he said in the Tuesday press conference. “This is the government working with nonprofits to create a one-stop shop for survivors.”

The Small Business Administration also partnered with FEMA and will provide low-interest loans to people and businesses affected by the wildfires, Anita Steenson, a public affairs specialist for the SBA, said during the press conference.

Lucio Mora, another community member who sought resources at the center, said it helped him with unemployment and temporary housing resources. He added that he had experienced homelessness before the fires began and was staying at the Westwood Recreation Center when he was directed to the disaster recovery center for further assistance.

“There’s more opportunity for help here,” Mora said. “They can help you sort it out.” 

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Maggie Konecky
Konecky is a News staff writer. Konecky is a third-year transfer and a film, television and digital media student.
Konecky is a News staff writer. Konecky is a third-year transfer and a film, television and digital media student.
Sam Mulick | Features and student life editor
Mulick is the 2024-2025 features and student life editor and a PRIME senior staff writer. He was previously a News reporter. Mulick is a fourth-year sociology student from northern New Jersey.
Mulick is the 2024-2025 features and student life editor and a PRIME senior staff writer. He was previously a News reporter. Mulick is a fourth-year sociology student from northern New Jersey.
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