Scaling Climate Solutions: Empowering Innovators for a Resilient & Sustainable LA

Wildfire relief

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit) City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit)

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

Wildfires in California—driven by high winds and rising temperatures—are becoming more frequent and destructive, especially in Los Angeles’ urban-wildland interface. Lower-income communities face disproportionate impacts from evacuation, property loss, and recovery challenges, as seen in areas like Altadena and the Tahiti Mobile Park in Malibu. Our Venture Fellows platform seeks to develop and support community-centered solutions focused on wildfire prevention, early warning systems, power outage management, and first responder tools tailored for both urban and suburban settings. By supporting programs that identify, nurture, and scale equitable climate resilience infrastructure, we aim to reduce wildfire risks, protect vulnerable populations, and enhance community preparedness across Los Angeles.

Larta’s Venture Fellows program is a nine-month, immersive experience that supports innovators to pilot and scale solutions that enhance community resilience and adaptability to weather disasters and related environmental conditions at no-cost. With support from the LA2050 grant, we will create a specialized “challenge area” for selected fellows (founders), where we will adapt our “identify-nurture, scale” methodology to focus on community-derived and centered solutions that promote wildfire resilience and adaptation in LA County. Our approach will equip the entrepreneur with the tools and resources to grow a sustainable enterprise for their innovation, and (through our network) pursue opportunities for pilots or demonstration projects for their solutions in Los Angeles County, building validation and creating avenues for real-world community impact.

If successful, our Venture Fellows-driven project will transform Los Angeles County into a model of wildfire resilience—where communities most at risk are protected by locally-driven innovations developed and piloted by diverse entrepreneurs. Through Larta’s Venture Fellows program, founders will co-create and deploy scalable solutions that prevent, mitigate, and respond to wildfires, including early warning systems, resilient infrastructure, and support tools for power and emergency services. These innovations will be tested through real-world pilot projects in vulnerable neighborhoods, fostering safer, more adaptive communities. By rooting resilience in local entrepreneurship and lived experience, LA County will emerge stronger, more connected, and better prepared for the climate-driven challenges ahead.