Amid all the surreal images that have surfaced over the past few days, few are as bizarre as this one. FEMA disaster recovery center for Los Angeles fire victims located in the former Westside Pavilion.
Dozens of government agencies have gathered to provide fire relief, alongside escalators and the sign of a defunct movie theater on the remains of what was once an upscale shopping mall in Los Angeles.
This article is provided free of charge to help keep our community safe and supported during these devastating fires.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration on Tuesday opened the city’s disaster recovery center at the UCLA Research Park, formerly known as the Westside Pavilion.
“This is a one-stop shop,” Bass said of the services provided to fire victims at the center.
More than 70 government agencies and departments have set up booths inside the cavernous space of the former mall at the corner of Pico Boulevard and Westwood Boulevard.
Representatives from local, state and federal agencies will assist with a variety of tasks, including requesting new birth certificates, applying for disaster relief loans and shutting off electricity and water to destroyed homes.
The strange paradox of the apocalypse and business as usual in Los Angeles today:
On one side of Pico Boulevard, the former Westside Pavilion has been transformed into a FEMA disaster recovery center. Not realistic at all.
The Apple Pan across the street is in the lunch rush and there aren’t any seats available. pic.twitter.com/saLx90Nd62
— Julia Wick (@sherlyholmes) January 14, 2025
The facility is one of two FEMA disaster recovery centers in the area, the other being at the Pasadena City College Community Education Center, 3035 E. Foothill Blvd.
The University of California purchased the land last year, and development is underway to convert the commercial space into research facilities. Once completed, it will house UCLA’s California Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, the UCLA Center for Quantum Science and Engineering, and other programs.
The approximately 700,000 square foot site is located two miles from UCLA’s main campus in Westwood. The mall closed in 2019, and Google signed a lease for the site with ambitious plans for a new campus before the coronavirus pandemic hit.
Space on the grounds was donated for use by UCLA. FEMA will temporarily operate recovery centers to provide assistance to fire victims and evacuees with document collection, insurance claims, federal assistance, social services, mental health, and other needs.
The center is located at 10850 Pico Blvd. For several weeks, we will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
