--- title: "Associations Respond to LA Wildfires" id: "56328" type: "post" slug: "associations-respond-to-la-wildfires" published_at: "2025-01-21T21:22:08+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T15:16:55+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2025/01/21/associations-respond-to-la-wildfires/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2025/01/21/associations-respond-to-la-wildfires.md" excerpt: "Two associations share strategies for supporting members and communities during Hurricane Helene and LA wildfires." taxonomy_category: - "Membership" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "community engagement" - "disaster response" - "Environment and Sustainability" - "Leadership" - "member support" - "Strategy and Operations" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Associations Respond to LA Wildfires Hurricane Helene and the recent Los Angeles wildfires have impacted hundreds of thousands of Americans. Because such natural disasters are part of life, associations should be prepared to respond to them. In a recent post on LinkedIn, Vista Cova founder Lowell Aplebaum, FASAE, CAE, laid out a variety of [disaster-response steps that organizations can take (opens in a new tab)](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/organizations-preparing-member-community-crisis-lowell-yj3ee/?trackingId=CEgNG2MsSLGMdSxYqGuNNA%3D%3D) , from granting a year of membership to members directly affected by a crisis to direct engagement with area components to provide assistance. “If an organization doesn’t have a component, they are still able to look through their database of their community members and see who’s within that community,” Aplebaum said. “Even if there’s no formal structure there, they can still target the geographic location.” The nature of an association’s disaster response has varied depending on their focus. The American Humane Society, for instance, has [helped transport pets away from the LA wildfires (opens in a new tab)](https://www.americanhumane.org/what-we-do/rescue-and-protect/disaster-response/) . Associations in the hospitality industry have [set up fundraisers and directed evacuees to hotels (opens in a new tab)](https://hotelbusiness.com/hotel-industry-offers-support-to-wildfire-victims/) . Shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists created a disaster-response plan designed to support its members. It’s put that plan to use in the wake of the LA wildfires, allowing registered technologists and candidates to extend their deadlines. Because all of ARRT’s testing is administered in-person, such extensions are necessary in areas affected by the fires. > AAGLA was able to establish the site in less than a week by reaching out to members quickly. ARRT’s approach is the same for any event formally declared a disaster by FEMA, said CEO Liana Watson, DM, R.T.(R)(M)(S)(BS)(ARRT), RDMS, RVT, FASRT, PMP, ICE-CCP, CAE. “Anytime there’s a natural disaster declaration, we put flags on our registrants’ individual accounts with us, and based on that we look at the deadlines for them having to renew their certification or submit their continuing education or any other deadline they have with us. Then we determine if we need to extend those deadlines for those people specifically.” At the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, staff quickly leveraged its database of members to create [a website offering listings of available rental housing in the affected region (opens in a new tab)](https://members.aagla.org/listings?_gl=1*o7nfub*_ga*NjU0MzA3NjM0LjE3MzcxNDY1OTA.*_ga_N0Y2HW232M*MTczNzQ2NDk1Mi40LjAuMTczNzQ2NDk1Mi42MC4wLjE2MDgwMzIwOQ..) . AAGLA, which is federated with the national Apartment Association, was able to establish the site in less than a week by reaching out to members quickly. “We started conversations about this on a Wednesday, started building a survey Thursday and Friday, and then away we went,” said AAGLA CFO and Director of Operations Matthew Farghum. By Saturday it had a beta version up and running, and by Monday had refined it to the point where it could share the site on social media and through a press release. Clarity and ease of use were the watchwords for Jeremy Minnick, CEO of Cedar Custom Software Solutions, which helped develop the site for AAGLA. “When you think of a tool you want people to use, it’s got to be as easy as possible,” he said. Because a crisis is always a possibility, associations should put themselves in a position to respond before one happens, Farghum said. “If not for the work that we did in the previous years leading up to this—upgrading our IT, getting our systems and processes in place, having standard operating procedures for our day-to-day stuff—it would have been a lot more challenging,” he said. [istock/melitas] [Mark Athitakis](https://associationsnow.com/author/mark-athitakis/) Mark Athitakis, a contributing editor for Associations Now, has written on nonprofits, the arts, and leadership for a variety of publications. He is a coauthor of The Dumbest Moments in Business History and hopes you never qualify for the sequel. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/mark-athitakis/) Tags: [#community engagement](https://associationsnow.com/tag/community-engagement/) [#disaster response](https://associationsnow.com/tag/disaster-response/) [#Environment and Sustainability](https://associationsnow.com/tag/environment-and-sustainability/) [#Leadership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/leadership/) [#member support](https://associationsnow.com/tag/member-support/) [#Strategy and Operations](https://associationsnow.com/tag/strategy-and-operations/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [ArticleReport: Volunteer Time Increasing in ValueApril 28, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/04/28/report-volunteer-time-increasing-in-value/) - [ArticleHow Much Foresight Should a Board Do?October 23, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/23/how-much-foresight-should-a-board-do/) - [PodcastSustainable Events: How Associations and DMOs Are Leading the ChargeMarch 31, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/03/31/sustainable-events-how-associations-and-dmos-are-leading-the-charge/) - [ArticleSurvey: Trust in Nonprofits Remains StrongJuly 28, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/07/28/survey-trust-in-nonprofits-remains-strong/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2025%2F01%2F21%2Fassociations-respond-to-la-wildfires%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !