LOS ANGELES — This week, Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez introduced a series of motions to provide relief to workers and small businesses who have been devastated by the recent wildfires and moved to put discretionary funding into fire safety and preparedness in the hillside communities she represents.
“The fires have upended the lives of countless Angelenos. People are struggling to make ends meet and worried about how they will prepare for future disaster,” said Councilmember Hernandez. “This legislation is about creating a safety net for those who need it most—our service workers, small businesses, and residents in high-risk areas—while investing in proactive measures to ensure we’re better prepared.”
Supporting Workers Affected by the Wildfires
A 2020 UCLA Labor Center study found that at least 100,000 domestic workers reside in Greater Los Angeles, providing childcare, homecare, and housecleaning services to support families, individuals, older adults, and people with illnesses or disabilities. At least 75% of these workers are Latinx, Asian American/Pacific Islander, or Black women, and more than half are immigrants. Notably, 77% earn a median hourly wage of just $10.79.
Councilmember Hernandez introduced legislation directing the Community Investment for Families Department (CIFD) to report back on a guaranteed basic income program for workers who lost employment due to the 2025 fires. The report will also outline how to reach and serve impacted outdoor, domestic, and childcare workers and provide details about program eligibility and the verification process.
In her motion, Councilmember Hernandez highlighted that community organizations and non-profits created relief funds for workers and entrepreneurs who lost jobs, receiving nearly 10,000 applications in one week. Immigrant workers remain among the most vulnerable due to their status, limiting their access to federal assistance and increasing the risk of economic displacement and financial hardship.
Commercial Tenant Protections
The Palisades and Eaton fires have resulted in major disruptions to the regional economy and have generated economic losses reaching $135 billion, with deeper losses expected. According to Cal Fire's damage assessment, approximately 6,662 structures were destroyed in the Palisades Fire, while around 9,148 were lost in the Eaton Fire, with many others sustaining varying degrees of damage. This has had a cascading effect on the local economy as many small businesses across the region suffered from economic losses whether by losing their business to fire or through secondary impacts such as business owners and employees who have been displaced from their homes and are unable to report to work.
Councilmember Hernandez also put forward a motion aimed at providing relief to small business owners, requesting the City Attorney produce a report within seven days on measures the city can take to prohibit commercial rent gouging, freeze commercial rents, and limit no-fault and non-payment evictions for small business tenants who have lost income due to the fires.
Councilmember Hernandez also directed the Economic and Workforce Development Department (EWDD) to report back on funding opportunities and one-time grants specifically for small businesses with fewer than 100 employees adversely affected by the wildfires and to provide details on anti-harassment measures for small businesses to prevent potential displacement.
Proactive Measures for Fire Safety and Preparedness
In her suite of motions, Councilmember Hernandez also highlighted the need to fortify communities that are located in high-fire severity zones and increase community disaster preparedness training.
Councilmember Hernandez put forward legislation allocating $50,000 from Council District 1 discretionary funds to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation’s Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program which is designed to help protect individuals, families, pets, neighbors and communities in an emergency situation. The funding will go towards supplies and resources for Council District 1 CERT Training participants.
In addition, Councilmember Hernandez allocated another $75,000 to develop and procure supplies for a Council District 1 disaster resiliency plan and conduct multilingual preparedness training with MySafe:LA, a non-profit organization that delivers fire prevention and disaster readiness programming. The motion also requests LAFD’s assistance in implementing disaster resiliency training for community members in Council District 1.
To read the legislative package, click the links below: