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June 17, 2026
SCALACS invites all to a Town Hall Meeting on
LA WILDFIRES: ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & HEALTH IMPACTS
on June 17, 5:00 - 8:30 PM
at Biola University (BUSN 109)
13800 Biola Avenue, La Mirada, CA
Community members, students, professionals, and guests are welcome to attend.
AGENDA:
5:00-5:30 pm: Dinner (Complimentary pizza will be provided)
5:30-6:15 pm: Presentation 1 by Shannon Sedgwick, LA County Economic Development Corporation
6:15-7:00 pm: Presentation 2 by Prof. Jun Wu, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, UC Irvine
7:00-7:45 pm: Presentation 3 by Prof. Ankita Mohapatra, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department, California State University, Fullerton
7:45-8:15 pm: Presentation 4 by Prof. Jiachen Zhang, Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles
8:15-8:30 pm: Vote of Thanks
Cost: Event is Free to attend. Everyone is invited.
Parking: Free; Attendees can pick up a visitor permit by checking in at the front gate (#49 on Campus Map Here).
For Registration: CLICK HERE
For Questions, contact: kkallury@gmail.com or jessica.lu@biola.edu
Presentation Abstracts & Speaker Bios:
Title: Economics of Damage from Wildfires and Recovery, Resilience and Revitalizing the Regional Economy
By: Shannon Sedgwick, LA County Economic Development Corporation
ABSTRACT
The 2025 Los Angeles wildfires have resulted in significant economic, property, and employment losses, with total property damages estimated between $28.0 billion and $53.8 billion. The Palisades and Eaton Fires account for the majority of these losses, impacting thousands of properties and businesses. While visible recovery is underway, the work of rebuilding — physically, emotionally, and structurally — continues. Recovery is not a moment. It is a process. Business disruptions within the fire perimeters are projected to cause $4.6 billion to $8.9 billion in lost economic output in Los Angeles County over a five-year period (2025-2029), representing approximately 0.3 to 0.6 percent of the county’s total economic output. The fires could lead to employment losses totaling between 24,990 and 49,110 job-years and labor income reductions ranging from $1.9 billion to $3.7 billion. Addivonally, federal, state, and local governments could see tax revenue losses between $0.73 billion and $1.4 billion due to reduced business activity and employment. The presentation emphasizes the need for coordinated action across sectors in the wake of the Palisades and Eaton fires: accelerating housing development, supporting small and midsized businesses, investing in infrastructure and workforce training, and strengthening climate resilience. Coming years will necessitate economic and physical resilience by means of disaster-adapted rebuilding efforts and increased economic productivity.
BIO
As the Senior Director of the Institute for Applied Economics at the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), Shannon leads the economic research and economic consulting work conducted at LAEDC. First, starting with LAEDC in 2008, Shannon has 17+ years’ experience working in economic research and analysis that aims to deepen understanding about the LA regional economy, its industries, and its labor market. Focused work includes workforce development, labor market and occupational analysis; industry clusters, industry competitiveness and dynamics, policy issue studies; economic and fiscal analysis; and demographics. A Southern California native, Shannon studied economics at the University of Southern California. She is a member of the National Association for Business Economics, the American Economic Association, and the Council for Community and Economic Research. She represents Los Angeles County on Southern California Association of Governments’ Economic Roundtable and serves on the Film LA Research Advisory Committee and the LA Chapter’s NABE Council of Economic Advisors. Ms. Sedgwick volunteers annually, since 2012, as a mentor to undergraduate students selected for the USC Dornsife Gateway Internship Program
Title: Wildfires in California: From Health Outcomes to Community Preparedness
By: Prof. Jun Wu, Department of Environmental & Occupational Health, UC Irvine
ABSTRACT
Wildfires have become a persistent feature of life in California, exposing millions of residents each year to elevated concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and other combustion byproducts. A growing body of evidence links this exposure to measurable health consequences, with disproportionate burdens falling on low-income and linguistically isolated communities. This presentation draws on findings from a recently completed California Air Resources Board (CARB) study examining wildfire smoke impacts on a range of acute health outcomes and adverse birth outcomes across California populations, with attention to differential effects across demographic and socioeconomic groups. Complementing these epidemiological findings, the presentation also draws on community-engaged research to examine wildfire risk communication and preparedness, including how residents perceive wildfire smoke risks, the channels and messengers that shape the information they receive, and the broader barriers and burdens they face in responding to wildfire events. The talk closes with reflections on advancing equitable, evidence-based wildfire response in a changing climate.
BIO
Dr. Jun Wu is a Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, University of California, Irvine. Her research investigates how environmental exposures, including air pollution, climate-related hazards such as wildfire smoke and extreme heat, soil contamination, and neighborhood built environment, affect both physical and mental health outcomes, with a focus on maternal health and children’s outcomes. She also collaborates with community partners to address environmental health disparity concerns of local residents.
Title: Catching Wildfire Early: The Science and Hope Behind Wildfire Mitigation
By: Prof. Ankita Mohapatra, Electrical & Computer Engineering Department California State University, Fullerton
ABSTRACT
Wildfires are no longer a distant headline. They are reshaping landscapes, communities, and futures across the globe. Behind every blaze, however, is a growing community of scientists, engineers, and citizens working to spot, predict, and prevent disaster before it strikes. In this talk, I'll share an accessible tour of the tools transforming wildfire response today: satellites watching the planet from above, AI models predicting where the next spark may catch, ground sensors and IoT networks gathering data in real time, and the communities building resilience block by block. Drawing on my early work in this field, I hope to give students, educators, and neighbors a clearer picture of the risk we face, along with the very real reasons for optimism. Most importantly, I want to leave you with one idea: wildfire mitigation is not just a job for firefighters or researchers. It is a collective effort, and there is a place in it for every curious mind.
BIO
Ankita Mohapatra, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at California State University, Fullerton. At CSUF, she leads the Presence lab, where her team develops predictive sensing technologies spanning early wildfire detection and wearable biosensing systems. Over the past eight years, she has built a teaching and research practice at the intersection of embedded systems, biomedical signal processing, sensor networks, and applied machine learning for health and environmental resilience. Beyond publications, her lab's work on early wildfire detection techniques has been mentioned and quoted in several media articles, such as, Bloomberg, Washington Post, Global News CA, LA Times, OC Register, etc.
Title: Assessing the Air Quality Impacts of the 2025 Los Angeles Fires
By: Jiachen Zhang, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering University of Southern California
ABSTRACT
In January 2025, a series of fast-moving wildland-urban-interface (WUI) fires swept through the Los Angeles (LA) metropolitan area, causing severe air pollution. While the impacts of WUI fires on outdoor air quality have been extensively studied, indoor exposure remains less understood, despite most people sheltering indoors during WUI fires. Our study investigates the spatial and temporal patterns of indoor and outdoor PM2.5 concentrations across the South Coast Air Basin, with a focus on LA County during the LA fires. Using highresolution data from co-located indoor and outdoor PurpleAir (PA) sensors, we analyze hourly PM2.5 levels and indoor/outdoor ratios. Outdoor PM2.5 concentrations spiked sharply during the fires, reaching unhealthy levels exceeding 130 μg/m³, compared to the mean concentration (12 μg/m³) during non-fire hours. Indoor concentrations also increased, though to a lesser extent, peaking around 60 μg/m³ compared to a mean of 7 μg/m³ during non-fire hours. This reflects the partial shielding that indoor environments provide from outdoor air pollution. The mean (0.42) and median (0.29) indoor/outdoor PM2.5 ratios during LA fire hours were lower than the mean (0.93) and median (0.66) ratios during non-fire hours. Indoor/outdoor PM2.5 ratios across sensors showed a wide distribution, reflecting differences in building characteristics and occupant behavior, such as indoor activities and the use of air purifiers. These findings emphasize the need for guidance and interventions to reduce indoor PM2.5 exposure and protect public health during extreme WUI fire events. I will also share preliminary findings on air pollutant emissions and air quality modeling of 2025 LA fires.
BIO
Dr. Jiachen Zhang is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Southern California (USC). She is also affiliated with the Department of Population and Public Health Services, as well as the Spatial Sciences Institute at USC. Her research focuses on urban climate and air quality modeling, emissions inventory development, and policy-relevant analysis to quantify the environmental and health impacts of climate change, wildfires, energy system transitions, and transportation electrification. Her research group also conducts field campaigns on urban heat measurements and aerosol sampling. Dr. Zhang holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from USC and a B.S. in Atmospheric Sciences from Peking University. During her doctoral and postdoctoral studies, she utilized and enhanced various climate and air quality models to assess the environmental impacts of adopting solar reflective cool surfaces, renewable energy, and electric cars. Prior to returning to USC, Dr. Zhang was the manager of the Mobile Source Technology Assessment and Modeling Section at the California Air Resources Board, where she led a team of scientists and engineers to conduct original research projects, develop emissions inventory, and inform first-oftheir- kind policies aimed at promoting electric vehicles and reducing air pollutant emissions. Additionally, she serves as the secretary of the Air & Waste Management Association West Coast Section. She received the 40 Under 40 recognition from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists and the Outstanding Engineering Achievement Merit Award from The Engineers’ Council for her interdisciplinary research and leadership. More information can be found on her research website https://sites.usc.edu/jzhang.