The wildfires in Los Angeles County that started on January 7 have devastated communities, driving thousands of people from their homes, destroying more than 12,000 buildings, and will ultimately result in hundreds of billions of dollars in damage and economic losses. 

An untold number of businesses have also been negatively affected. Forbes reported that there are over 1,000 businesses in the Palisades zip code of 90272 alone. But the physical damage is only part of the difficulty; local businesses depend on local residents as their customers, however, with so many people displaced and navigating and rebuilding their lives, recovery will be slow and challenging. Businesses, particularly small businesses, will have to make hard choices about whether or not rebuilding and reopening is possible.  

For those businesses that hope to reopen, community support and financial assistance will be crucial. This post serves as a guide to the different kinds of resources available and as a point of reference for anyone who wants to share the information with businesses that will need all the help they can get.

Federal assistance programs

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the resources available through the Small Business Administration (SBA) and those will be a linchpin to recovery efforts from the wildfires.

SBA disaster loans are only available to those within regions declared to be part of a major disaster area. In the case of these wildfires and straight-line winds, the primary area affected is Los Angeles County, but adjacent counties of Kern, Orange, San Bernardino, and Ventura are also included and therefore eligible.

There are two main SBA disaster loans for businesses.

Business physical disaster loans

Businesses and private nonprofit organizations that need to repair or replace damaged real estate, machinery, equipment, or inventory may be eligible for a physical disaster loan for up to $2 million. These loans can be used to cover losses not covered by insurance.

Interest rate

The interest rate on these loans can be as low as 4% for businesses and 3.625% for nonprofits. Businesses that have other access to credit may pay a higher rate, up to 8%. 

Term

The loan repayment term can be as long as 30 years, however, organizations that have access to credit elsewhere will only qualify for a maximum loan term of 7 years.

How to apply and deadline

Use the SBA’s disaster assistance portal. If you’re seeking to obtain a physical damage loan, you must apply by March 10, 2025.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL)

Lots of business owners got familiar with Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) during the pandemic. These loans are for up to $2 million for eligible small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, and most private nonprofits who have “suffered substantial economic injury” and also “are unable to obtain credit elsewhere.” There’s a little bit more to the eligibility for EIDL, so we’ll cover that before getting into the specifics about the actual loans.

Eligibility

To start, “substantial economic injury” is defined as a “business [that] is unable to meet its financial obligations and pay its regular and necessary operating expenses.” In other words, the loan should help cover expenses that your business could’ve covered had the disaster not happened. 

Further, the SBA spells out that businesses must meet the following criteria to qualify for economic injury:

  • The business was directly impacted by the disaster
  • The business cannot cover expenses due to the disaster and/or debt payments
  • The business was physically located in the declared disaster area

Lastly, the SBA notes that the loan amount “will depend on how much financial impact you have experienced and your company’s financial needs,” regardless of whether you have property damage.

Interest rate

The interest rate on EIDL will not exceed 4% for businesses and 3.625% for nonprofits. Also, interest will not accrue for the first 12 months.

Term

The loan repayment term will depend on the borrower’s ability to repay, but it can be as long as 30 years. The first loan payment is deferred for 12 months, and there is no penalty for paying off the balance early.

How to apply and deadline

Use the SBA’s disaster assistance portal. You must apply by October 8, 2025.

Other federal assistance

In addition to the programs above, the SBA also provides for home and personal property disaster loans to assist individuals who do not own businesses. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) also assists people impacted by the fires with costs such as paying for essential items, finding a place to stay, replacing personal property, or making basic home repairs. 

State and Local Government Support

Beyond federal assistance, resources at the state and local level are also available to businesses negatively affected by the wildfires.

Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC)

The LAEDC has a page dedicated to wildfire assistance with helpful links to emergency and recovery information, business assistance, and government resources.

Business assistance

LAEDC will be releasing Wildfire Economic Recovery resources including business-interruption grants and business assistance resources as soon as immediate safety of residents and property is secured. 

In the meantime, the LAEDC Business Assistance Team is available to assist with free, confidential services for all kinds of needs:

  • Access to capital: loans, grants, technical assistance advisement
  • Business incentives
  • Workforce, wage subsidies, On the Job Training
  • Assistance with utilities
  • Layoff Aversion & ways to sustain business operations
  • Procurement
  • Minority business certification
  • Entrepreneurial training
  • Site selection
  • Permitting

The LAEDC also has an interactive 6-step guide for businesses to help plan for continuity, resiliency, and disaster recovery.

Small Business Development Centers (SBDC)

For general disaster preparedness, the California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) has a dedicated page called Outsmart Disaster. It also has a page specifically for the January 2025 wildfires that details recovery centers, resources, and steps to start recovery.

Recovery centers

With the support of the SBA, Disaster Loan Outreach Centers (DLOCs) have been established in Los Angeles and Ventura counties. SBA and SBDC advisors are there to provide face-to-face assistance to affected businesses, nonprofits, and residents. 

The LA County locations are open daily from 9 am to 8 pm, and there are both eastside—Pasadena City College Community Education Center— and westside—UCLA Research Park West—locations. The Ventura County location is at the Ventura County Community Foundation in Camarillo and is open weekdays, 8 am to 5 pm.

State Treasurer’s Office (STO)

The California Treasurer’s Office has highlighted a number of programs available to businesses affected including its California Capital Access Programs (CalCAP) for small businesses and Sales and Use Tax Exclusion (STE) Program for manufacturing businesses looking to relocate their facilities. 

City of Los Angeles Economic & Workforce Development Department (EWDD)

In addition to having a presence at the westside Disaster Loan Outreach Center, The City of Los Angeles is also assisting businesses in several different ways. 

Community Business Organizations

Government agencies across the Los Angeles region are holding weekly webinars that will have updates to community and business assistance providers with information, resources and guidance for supporting businesses impacted. Webinars will be held on Wednesdays at 12 pm local time, January 15 through February 26.

BusinessSource Centers

The City of Los Angeles has ten BusinessSource Centers (BSCs) spread across the region. The advisors there provide free one-on-one consultation, business and employment support, and assistance with applying for forthcoming microenterprise grants and microloans.

Tax relief

A number of federal, state, and local taxing authorities are granting tax relief to both businesses and individuals.

Federal

Within days of the fires starting, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that affected businesses and individuals in areas designated by FEMA would qualify for tax relief.

This relief postpones tax filing and payment deadlines that fall between January 7, 2025 and October 15, 2025. Any deadlines falling within this period will have until October 15 to file returns and pay taxes timely.

This means, for example, that the Oct. 15, 2025, deadline will now apply to:

  • Individual income tax returns and payments normally due on April 15, 2025.
  • 2024 contributions to IRAs and health savings accounts for eligible taxpayers.
  • 2024 quarterly estimated income tax payments normally due on Jan. 15, 2025, and estimated tax payments normally due on April 15, June 16 and Sept. 15, 2025.
  • Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Jan. 31, April 30 and July 31, 2025.
  • Calendar-year partnership and S corporation returns normally due on March 17, 2025.
  • Calendar-year corporation and fiduciary returns and payments normally due on April 15, 2025.
  • Calendar-year tax-exempt organization returns normally due on May 15, 2025.
  • Quarterly payroll and excise tax returns normally due on Jan. 31, April 30, and July 31, 2025.

In addition to filing and payment relief, taxpayers in affected areas that suffer uninsured and underinsured losses can choose to claim those losses on the return for the year the loss occurred or the prior year. In the case of the January 2025 wildfires, that means those losses could be claimed on either 2025 tax returns filed next year, in 2026, or on 2024 tax returns filed this year, 2025. You can learn more about claiming these losses in IRS Publication 547.

As always, work with a tax advisor to determine what’s best for you when it comes to filing federal tax returns.

State and local

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) has a page dedicated to State of Emergency Tax Relief

Two significant instances of tax relief that have been announced so far are:

The CDTFA State of Emergency Tax Relief page has a full list of all their taxes and fees that are eligible for a three-month extension, as well as information on applying for relief.

Government aid and crowdfunding 

Aside from government aid, many people have attempted to raise needed funds from crowdfunding websites like GoFundMe. It’s understandable that people who have been affected, whether personally or via their business, will seek out assistance however they can get it, and get it fast. Crowdfunding can be a great way for communities to rally around each other. Beloved restaurants like the Reel Inn in Malibu and Side Pie in Altadena, among many others, have raised money on GoFundMe and, as of this writing, are coming close to reaching their goals.

If you are considering crowdfunding, be aware there are som potential pitfalls. Money raised through crowdfunding may have a negative impact on the federal disaster aid you’re eligible for—it also may affect insurance coverage. Crowdfunding money may be perceived as “duplicating” benefits, which federal law and certain insurance policies do not allow.

However, funds from a crowdfunding campaign may not make you totally ineligible for federal aid. It may simply just offset the aid that you’re eligible for. In other words, if you qualified for $25,000 in federal aid, but raised $10,000 from a crowdfunding campaign, you would only be able to collect $15,000 in aid. 


With so many people and businesses adversely affected, it will be critical for communities to share dependable resources with each other to help however they can. Send this article to anyone in your network affected by these wildfires or know someone who might be.

Caleb Newquist Caleb is Editor-at-Large at Gusto. In 2009, he became the founding editor of Going Concern, the one-of-a-kind voice on the accounting profession, serving in the role for 9 years. Prior to Going Concern, Caleb worked as a CPA for nearly 6 years in New York and Denver. He lives in Denver with his wife, two daughters, and two cats.
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