Dear Members,

If I saw you in the last month, I probably told you how grateful I am that you are a part of my community. This sentiment has anchored me as I reflect on the Jan 7th wildfires that destroyed so many homes and structures in our neighborhoods and as I look to the years of rebuilding ahead. At SEAOSC, our response has been swift, organized, and deliberate. We as structural engineers have a unique role to play in the rebuilding effort and we are doing so as a community.

Here are some of the ways that we are responding:

• Policy: through our relationships formed over years of work in our Safer Cities program, SEAOSC is communicating directly with building officials and their chief staff. These building officials and staff are working tirelessly to help the public under enormous pressure and SEAOSC is providing technical guidance to help them face current challenges. At the same time, our affiliated groups, AIA and others, are looking at ways that we can help individuals navigate the rebuilding and permitting process efficiently and quickly - we are experts at designing structures and navigating the approval process - and our committees are hard at work to provide input to these efforts.
• Technical expertise: our local engineers are engaged in a wider effort to gather relevant information developed following previous wildfires in our state. A SEAOC Wildfire Task Group was immediately formed in the days after January 7th and gathered current resources. These resources were passed on to building officials to aid them in answering the technical questions posed by the public in regards to rebuilding. This is an ongoing effort to continue gathering of technical resources and learn lessons from previous incidents that our members will be able to use to help their clients rebuild. At the more local level, we are also working on technical review and guidance for efficient home construction that could expedite the permitting process.
• Reconnaissance: a team has been formed and our Disaster Emergency Services committee is organizing team deployments. Visits to areas affected by the Eaton Fire and to the Palisades Fire have begun and will continue in the months ahead. The work following the reconnaissance will continue to develop the resources for future wildfires.

Our board of directors, our committees, and our members at large are all working together, but we cannot do this without more help from our members. Please reach out to our board, committee chairs, or to me if you want to serve. As we respond to each of these efforts (and more), we do so as a community.

Garrett W. Mills, S.E.
SEAOSC President 2024-25