Seven months after wildfires destroyed thousands of homes in Altadena and surrounding areas, nearly 70% of homeowners who suffered severe damage from the fire had neither put their properties up for sale nor taken any steps toward rebuilding.
But a few weeks after the first anniversary of the fire, the number of people in that limbo had dropped by more than half, as more people took some action toward recovery, according to Data released on Thursday By UCLA’s Institute for Latino Policy and Politics.
Although it’s the latest sign of progress in the aftermath of the Eaton fire, researchers say recovery is still far from over for most fire survivors, even as they have started on the road to rebuilding.
The data shows that there has been a new wave of people starting the permitting process and moving forward, but the gap continues to grow after that point due to financing, among other reasons.
According to statistics, about 44% of homeowners have fully approved permits for reconstruction, but only 30% have started construction.
“This is the first step in a very long and comprehensive process,” said Gabriela Carmona, a senior research analyst at the institute and lead author of the report. “The recovery is still very uncertain for most families.”
The analysis found that less than 50% of homeowners have still not taken any steps towards improvements.
The report analyzed data on single-family homes that were at least 50% destroyed in the fire, including building permit applications, property sales records and fire damage assessments, as well as race and ethnicity markers for potential disparities. The report did not analyze data from tenants, businesses or the Palisades fire district.
The report made a similar comparison and found, “Remodeling activity increased across all groups, but the largest gains occurred among Black and Latino homeowners.” data from august With February. The most recent data showed that about 56% of Black homeowners have taken some steps toward improvement, up from 27% in August. Among Latino households, this metric increased to 63% by February, compared to 35% in August.
The new data comes as the Eaton firefight enters its 15th month. The Times released an analysis last week that found that more than half of all the dwellings destroyed in the Eaton fire – about 6,000 – have filed applications to rebuild. The review also found that applicants were taking up to 155 days to obtain permits.
Compared to the pace in Santa Rosa after the 2017 Tubbs fire, The Times’ analysis found that reconstruction was significantly slower in both Altadena and Pacific Palisades.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Katherine Barger, who represents Altadena, called the increase in applicants “meaningful forward momentum,” but she acknowledged it means residents of about 3,000 homes have still not started moving forward.
“The fact that only half of wildfire survivors have submitted applications makes it clear that significant barriers remain, particularly financial barriers,” Barger said in a statement. “Many affected residents have taken no action to rebuild because they lack the capital to proceed – a problem compounded by delays in insurance payments.”
Barger continued to call for more federal support to help finance the recovery, with Carmona saying this would help homeowners who are holding out. But Carmona also said new policies are needed to support a variety of financial opportunities for families and community members to finance rebuilding, access meaningful loans and receive full insurance payments.
It’s still unclear when and how much Southern California Edison will pay fire victims — the utility has not admitted it caused the fire, but says its equipment was probably linked to the fire, and is facing hundreds of lawsuits — and what nontraditional or charitable options might be available to families.
Carmona said, “Many families are torn between wanting to rebuild” and not being sure “which loans will make sense or what will be available to them.”
Marisol Espino, who lost her home in the Eaton fire and has since become a disaster case manager at the Legacy Land Project, said these financial questions had become a game of mental gymnastics for her and many of her former neighbors.
“A big misconception is that people can just ‘remodel,'” Espino said. Instead, people are finding that they are underinsured, that their insurance amount is tied to their mortgage, that they don’t qualify for a loan or that there are major restrictions on the loan they can get.
“What’s happening is people are depleting their savings, they’re taking money out of their 401(k), they’re sacrificing their retirement and their children’s future to try to move back home,” Espino said.
She understands the desire to return home, she said, but is concerned about the long-term sustainability of this next wave of homeowners trying to rebuild.
a fresh survey From the Department of Angels, a non-profit organization focus on The study, which facilitated fire recovery and community organizing, found that about 40% of fire survivors had taken on debt since the fire, and the majority said their mental health had deteriorated.
“This is a bifurcated recovery, and the No. 1 factor is money,” said Joey Chen, executive director of the nonprofit. Every Fire Survivor’s Network. He said the group found that those who were able to rebuild quickly either already had money or had received full insurance payments.
Although there are financial constraints for many, the UCLA report pointed to some positive trends in terms of home sales: Not only are investors making up a smaller share of homebuyers in recent months, but fewer homes are also being put up for sale. Altadena locals are extremely concerned about investors and corporations buying homes in their relatively affordable and diverse community, especially in historically black neighborhoods where many homes have been around for multiple generations.
In August, about two-thirds of sales of fire-damaged homes were made by investors — defined as limited liability companies, corporations or family trusts involved in real estate investment activity — but by the one-year mark, that share had fallen to about 59%, according to the report.
New listings have also slowed in the fire area, with only 1% of severely fire-damaged homes available for sale in February, down from about 2% five months earlier.
“In general, sales have been below expectations,” Carmona said. “We had the biggest increase in the first few months… there hasn’t really been a big jump in sales since.”
And although much remains uncertain about Altadena’s recovery, markers of progress offer some hope, said William Sims, executive director of the Legacy Land Project, which was established in the wake of the Eaton fire to provide direct assistance to residents in need. His nonprofit is one of dozens that make it Eaton Fire CollaborativeHelping provide residents with a range of resources needed to move forward, including case management and financial assistance.
“The outreach that’s happening, the conversations and the events and the collective power of the community is working,” Sim said. “I think more people realize that it is possible to rebuild – and although it is expensive and costly, together we are going to make sure that anyone who wants to own a home can do so.”
That includes Espino, who said Habitat for Humanity recently found a way to help his multi-generational family rebuild.
“We have moved on to the next phase,” Espino said. “We’re trying to get everyone back home together.”
