California Gov. Gavin Newsom has tabbed NBA legend Magic Johnson, Dodgers chairman Mark Walter and 2028 Olympics organizer Casey Wasserman to lead a new effort to support wildfire recovery and rebuilding efforts in Los Angeles.
The philanthropic organization, called LA Rises, includes other business leaders and elected officials as the city looks to rebuild after the January fires ravaged communities and killed at least 29 people.
“We can’t lose hope,” Newsom said in a news conference at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday. “It is possible that we can come back more climate resilient, come back stronger.”
The Mark Walter Family Foundation and the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation have committed up to $100 million to the effort, Newsom said.
Johnson said he will lead the effort to rebuild Altadena, which has been a haven for generations of Black families avoiding discriminatory housing practices elsewhere.
“My focus will be on Altadena because those people may be left behind and I want to make sure that that doesn’t happen,” Johnson said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Firefighters were close to nearly having the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire fully to the east surrounded after the first significant storm of the season dosed a region that had been dry for eight months. Both fires ignited Jan. 7 during powerful Santa Ana winds. The Palisades Fire, the largest of the blazes, destroyed more than 6,800 structures and killed at least 12 people.
The Hughes Fire, which ignited north of Los Angeles last week and caused evacuation orders or warnings for more than 50,000 people, was also nearly contained.
Wasserman said the effort is intended to bring about the “rebirth of L.A.”
“This process and this journey we’re about to start with LA Rises is not about the next month or the next year. This is about what L.A. is going to be like for the next 50 or 100 years, ” Wasserman said, according to the Times.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
