ImageCat, USC Price School, and Laurie Johnson Consulting collaborate on groundbreaking NSF Rapid Research to capture critical data on impacts and recovery after the 2025 Los Angeles Fires

22 Oct 2025

A team of distinguished disaster researchers comprised of Price School alum and Principal Investigator (PI) Shubharoop Ghosh, Price School Assistant Professor Santina Contreras, PhD and  Laurie Johnson (Co-I) have been awarded a prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) Rapid Response Research (RAPID)  grant for their project titled “Bridging the Data Gap: Capturing Ephemeral Data to Enhance Wildfire Resilience and Recovery after the 2025 Devastating Los Angeles Fires.”

Led by ImageCat, the team is capturing perishable data in the first year following the Eaton and Palisades fires. Vital information that disappears quickly but holds the key to enhance long-term recovery and stronger wildfire resilience are being gathered under this project. By systematically collecting data on wildfire impacts, governance structures, recovery processes, and rebuilding policies, this project fills a critical gap in wildfire risk assessments and disaster recovery models.

PI Shubharoop Ghosh’s primary focus is leading ImageCat’s effort on collecting foundational data on impacts to the communities of Altadena and Palisades including a wide range of GIS and other critical data such as Right of Entry (ROE) status for debris removal program by USACE, building permit history, insurance claims data and aggregate data from post event surveys.

Price School Assistant Professor Santina Contreras, PhD is leading a series of interviews with nonprofit, philanthropic, and community-based organizations to contribute to our understanding of organizational response and recovery activities, the incorporation of community needs and interests, and recommendations for improved work of organizations in the wake of future disasters.

Laurie Johnson, PhD FAICP, who is a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action and Fire-Safe Recovery is leading the research on the evolution of multi-level governmental response and recovery coordination structures of  federal, state, county and city leaders and agencies.

This timely research integrates diverse perspectives to capture a broad range of factors influencing disaster impacts and recovery processes. By collecting distinct snapshots of the recovery process over the course of one year, the team aims to create a more cohesive understanding of post-disaster recovery dynamics. The final data outputs of this research will be published on the NSF Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) DesignSafe facilities for the natural hazards research community.

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