FORGE LA unveils disaster recovery finance playbook after Los Angeles wildfires

FORGE LA released a new CDFI Disaster Recovery Playbook on Nov. 12, 2026, using lessons from the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires to outline financing fixes for homeowners, small businesses and community properties. The roadmap includes seven financial products, 13 policy recommendations and a pilot plan aimed at communities that still struggle to rebuild after disasters.

Why it matters: - The Los Angeles wildfire recovery exposed gaps in disaster finance for low- to moderate-income households, small businesses and community-serving properties. - FORGE LA's plan is meant to help CDFIs, funders and governments build a more durable recovery system for disasters nationwide. - The Playbook argues that even strong financing tools will fall short without a permanent role for CDFIs in disaster recovery.

What happened: - FORGE LA released the CDFI Disaster Recovery Playbook on Nov. 12, 2026. - The collaborative drew on lessons from the January 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, including the Eaton and Palisades fires. - The Playbook was unveiled at a Los Angeles launch event for CDFIs, funders, policymakers and community development leaders. - Citibank sponsored the event, and the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco hosted it. - More information is available in the company's announcement.

The details: - The Playbook comes from nine months of collaboration among 12 CDFIs, the Urban Institute and the California Coalition for Community Investment. - The Center by Lendistry convenes FORGE LA with support from JPMorganChase. - The report proposes seven financial products for housing recovery, small business rebuilding and preservation of community-serving properties. - Those products are moving into a two-year, $58.65 million pilot. - The pilot targets 181 borrowers, organizations and housing units. - The Playbook also includes 13 policy recommendations to strengthen the role and capacity of CDFIs in disaster recovery. - The implementation roadmap outlines steps CDFIs, funders and government partners can take to test and advance the solutions. - FORGE LA participants include Century Housing, Enterprise Community Partners, Genesis LA, Inclusive Action for the City, Lendistry Home Loans, Low Income Investment Fund, Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles, Neighborhood Partnership Housing Services, Pacific Community Ventures, Partners for the Common Good, Prosperity Now and Raza Development Fund. - The Urban Institute serves as research partner, and the California Coalition for Community Investment serves as policy partner.

Between the lines: - Mainstream disaster lending still tends to require documentation, credit histories and underwriting timelines that many LMI households and small businesses cannot meet. - CDFIs are positioned to reach these borrowers because they already work in the communities most affected by disasters. - The emphasis on policy changes suggests the group sees capital alone as insufficient without structural support.

What's next: - FORGE LA plans to pursue pilots of the proposed products. - The collaborative will seek support from funders and policymakers to move the recommendations toward implementation. - The next phase will test whether the Playbook's financing ideas can scale beyond Los Angeles and inform recovery efforts in other disasters.

The bottom line: - FORGE LA is trying to turn wildfire recovery lessons into a practical disaster-finance model that centers CDFIs, not just emergency capital.