Government officials explored sustainable ways of responding to the Los Angeles fires at the seventh annual UCLA Luskin Summit on April 16.

The event was held at the UCLA Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center. The summit aimed to share the experiences of LA leaders and researchers to better understand how to restore communities impacted by environmental damage, according to the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs website.

Mayor Karen Bass, California District 24 Senator Ben Allen, Director of Altadena Recovery Anish Saraiya and LA County Board of Supervisors member Lindsey Horvath discussed wildfire devastation and restoration during the opening session.

Horvath said climate-instigated emergency preparedness is an interdisciplinary field. She added that affordability for individual homeowners and residents is a main concern moving forward, especially in terms of insurance.

“A little compassion goes a long way,” Saraiya said. “The recognition that everybody is moving heaven and earth to help those people who have lost everything. … These impacts aren’t localized in these regions. It is a regionwide impact we’re going to see.”

Attendees then explored the different “tracks” of rebuilding LA following the January fires in breakout sessions.

During the “Managed Retreat for Wildfire?” breakout session led by UCLA assistant professor Liz Koslov, Allen said climate change may make it more difficult for the city to rebuild.

Allen worked on California Senate Bill 1078, which supports movement of people and infrastructure away from vulnerable areas along California’s coast.

“This bill sought to create a revolving plan that would buy up property on a voluntary basis along the coast for properties that were at high risk from being taken over by the ocean,” Allen said.

Daryl Osby, the vice president of emergency preparedness for the California Water Service, said wildfires tend to recur in specific areas, adding that history will keep repeating itself if leaders do not take action. The state needs to focus on proper water flow and access for emergency personnel in the rebuilding process, he said.

“I know that from my experience, when we do have disasters, it does create opportunities for us, holistically, to have conversations about how we can build a more resilient community,” Osby said.

Cesar Montoya, a senior policy analyst from the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute who attended the event, said the wildfires had a disproportionate impact on Latino and immigrant communities.

In response to the wildfires, UCLA LPPI has partnered with other UCLA institutes to analyze the health impacts that the fires had on Black, Latino and immigrant communities, Montoya added.

[Related: LA County fires put at least 35,000 jobs held by Latinos at risk, report finds]

In the future, UCLA LLPI hopes to work with the city to ensure that these communities are at the forefront of the rebuilding efforts, he said.

DeShawn Samad, an sustainability data analyst, said she attended to gain more insight into what LA’s next steps are.

“I’m here to hear what the greater discussions on rebuilding LA looks like in a sustainable manner, but also one that brings the community advocacy to the forefront,” she said.

Samad, who grew up in Altadena, said she knows over 100 people who have been directly impacted by the fires.

“There’s a lot of memories. From schools to churches to parks to your local liquor store, hair salon and laundromat, all of those things are gone,” Samad said. “All of those staples are gone.”

Alvaro Sanchez, a UCLA Student Advisory board member for the Luskin Center for Innovation, was drawn to the “Managed Retreat for Wildfire?” breakout session because he believes the social issues discussed go beyond identity, he said.

“People build communities where they have their whole lives, and then they have to move because of a natural disaster or expecting one,” Sanchez said.