Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger touted “rebuilding progress” on Tuesday, but noted that 15 months after the disastrous Eaton fire on Jan. 7, thousands have yet to apply to rebuild in the fire’s footrprint.
To date, more than 1,025 homes are under construction, about 2,000 building permits have been issued, and Los Angeles County has received more than 3,000 rebuild applications, according to Barger, who represents the area that was burned.
But with more than 6,000 homes consumed in the fire, only about half of the impacted households have applied to rebuild – “signaling a critical gap in recovery,” Barger’s office said.
“Today’s progress demonstrates that when survivors are able to enter the rebuilding pipeline, our system is working to move them forward efficiently,” Barger said in a written statement. “However, the fact that only half of wildfire survivors have submitted applications makes clear that significant barriers remain, especially financial ones.
“Many impacted residents have taken no action to rebuild because they lack the capital to move forward—an issue exacerbated by delayed insurance payouts.”
Underinsurance, high rebuild costs, uncertainty over the future of litigation and other factors have slowed the recovery. Many residents also lament still-standing homes that were gutten by fire, and which were scarred with ash and soot damage that can costs tens of thousands of dollars to remediate.
All that on top of an already high-priced housing market, fueled by rising interest rates and global economic uncertainty, brought by tariffs and war.
Barger said there’s a need for strong federal partnership to help close the recovery gap.
“I’ve appreciated the opportunity to meet with U.S. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler over the course of these past few months to have solutions-oriented conversations focused on recovery,” Barger said . “Both administrators remain engaged and attentive to our local Eaton Fire recovery work. I remain thankful that President Trump has an interest in supporting wildfire recovery efforts, and I welcome opportunities to work collaboratively with his administration to deliver meaningful relief for our residents.”
Still, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s renewed call for the Trump administration to unlock $34 billion in federal additional funding for wildfire relief has not resulted in funding, amid what by the end of last year were strained relations between the state and the Trump administration.