let's speak to the chief executive of the nonprofit initiative after the fire usa, jennifer gray thompsonnorthern california. tell us what you can do for people down in the south, in los angeles.— people down in the south, in los angeles. so, we actually had a mega _ los angeles. so, we actually had a mega fire _ los angeles. so, we actually had a mega fire in _ los angeles. so, we actually had a mega fire in 2017 - los angeles. so, we actually| had a mega fire in 2017 where we lost 8900 structures. our fires burned for 2h days. at that time, it was unprecedented. other than a campfire we are the second—largest magnifier in the state of california. we have a lot of our organisation is spending the last seven years building the best network in the nation for subject matter, experts, wildfire survivors... i don't know everyone but we certainly know everyone who knows exactly how to get through this, or at least how to support the community to give them hope and a chance to come back. figs give them hope and a chance to come back-— come back. as you mentioned, ou had come back. as you mention

joining us now is jennifer gray thompson, the ceo of after the fire usa. jennifer, nice to have you on the program. just in a nutshell, what exactly do you do in terms of tangible here? how do you help these fire victims? so first, you know, because we've lived it, we actually lead it. we are the leading nonprofit in the nation dealing solely with mega fire from a 360 point of view. what we've done over the last seven years is built the best network of experienced mega fire leaders, nonprofits from the very front lines to actually all the way to the big national ones. we also educate big national organizations and nonprofits about how to appropriately serve in a mega fire. because remember, this crisis is only about seven years old. we go in and we support local leaders and including public sector ngos, and we provide a service where they always have somebody to call peer to peer support. and the big goal is that they don't have to reinvent every aspect of it. we can give them systems, ideas, and then we walk along with them for the long run. yeah, i think

ceo jennifer gray thompson says this nonprofit group works with local agencies, providing hope and an eye to what comes next. the top priorities are, you know, how do they access insurance? what nonprofits are trusted, like united policyholders to help them navigate that, and how to navigate things like contractor fraud? you know, three types of people show up after a dister. those who want to sell you something, those who want to defraud you, and those who want to help. bly says he's grateful you got to be community driven to help these people, you know, facilitate and get back into homes and to get their fire mitigation handled. what do the homeowners need right away, even at this point? money. the long road to recovery is something every area hit by wildfire understands. and fortunately, groups like after the fire stay for the long run in boulder creek, robert honda, nbc, bay area news. okay. thank you very much, robert. our team coverage of the southern california wildfires continues a little bit later in this newscast. coming up at 530, we're going to take you to the oakland hill

jennifer gray thompson, who founded her nonprofit in the wake of the 2017 wine country fires, says it took about five years for much of the rebuilding in sonoma county. she expects, because so many properties in the palisades fire are along the coast there, rebuilding could take even longer. we don't want people to give up hope that they can actually do it. it's going to be a slog in a long time, but they can do it. we as a state have to rally and do everything we can to support la. as folks rebuild and recover, and we have to be there for our neighbors to the south. state senator scott wiener supports newsom's executive order as well, but he says it highlights how challenging building has become in california. and so we want to make sure, of course, that as folks in l.a. are recovering, that they can get what they need quickly. but let's be clear, we need to be making these changes in many ways statewide, not exactly what the governor proposed, but we need to streamline and expedite people's ability to build new homes. newsom is also directing state agencies to find other permitting

jennifer gray thompson is the founder of nonprofit after the fire, which she began in the wake of the 2017 wine country fire. she says it took about five years for much of sonoma county to rebuild. it could take more time for coastal properties, but she believes that newsom's move is a game changer. well, don't want people to give up hope that they can actually do it. it's going to be a slog and a long time, but they can do it. california leads the nation in environmental stewardship. i'm not going to give that up. but one thing i won't give into is delay. and the governor is also directing state agencies to look into other possible permitting issues. he definitely wants this not to be an issue when it comes to rebuilding for those survivors. and he says he is looking to keep these people in california, in san francisco, ginger conejero saab today in the bay. thank you ginger. our team is continuing to follow the fires in los angeles closely. when we're not on the air. our website is a great resource. we're posting updates around the clock. just head to nbcbayarea.com. you can also do