Ashes to Resilience: A Guide to Wildfire Recovery is a resource developed by NewStories and Regenerating Paradise, drawing on their experiences to offer starting points for communities navigating wildfire recovery. Recognizing that what needs to happen is shaped by local culture and geography, the guide supports communities in their own journey of recovery and Re-Storying. When fires hit Lahaina, Hawaii, the organizations shared tips from their experiences, understanding that while each community’s path is unique, lessons learned can offer valuable orientation. NewStories is working with partners from wildfire-affected communities to create a Wildfire Affected Communities Collaboratory, bringing together people from across the West and the world to share learning, experiences, and solidarity to regenerate community.
Why it matters: Communities struck by wildfire often face not just physical destruction but the loss of familiar story and identity—and recovery requires both practical guidance and support for the deeper work of Re-Storying what home and community mean going forward. By sharing lessons from lived experience in Paradise and elsewhere while respecting that local culture and geography shape each community’s path, the guide offers solidarity without prescription. The emerging Wildfire Affected Communities Collaboratory extends this mutual aid, recognizing that as wildfires increase in frequency and intensity across the West and world, communities need each other’s wisdom and presence to regenerate rather than merely rebuild.
