L.A.’s recovery is now slower than Paradise
April 14, 2026
Dear friend,
This week brought news that made many of us stop and take a breath.
Politico reporter Liam Dillon released the results of a new investigation into the pace of recovery after the Los Angeles fires.
The conclusion is sobering.
The L.A. recovery is now moving even slower than Santa Rose after the Tubbs Fire, or Paradise after the Camp Fire.
From the article:
“Residents want to come back. Nine in 10 wildfire survivors intend to rebuild, according to a January survey by Department of Angels, a nonprofit formed to support Los Angeles fire victims. Yet those surveyed said soaring construction costs — estimates vary widely from $450 to $1,500 per square foot — and delayed or insufficient insurance payouts were preventing them from doing so.”
In other words, the same obstacle we have been talking about since the first months after the fire.
“The gap.”
The gap between what it actually costs to rebuild and delayed or insufficient insurance payments.
What We Know from Past California Fires
This new investigation is even more sobering when you remember Liam’s earlier work as part of the Los Angeles Times team that conducted a landmark analysis of the five largest California wildfires between 2017 and 2020.
Eight years later, only 38% of destroyed homes had been rebuilt.
Researchers looked closely at what separated the families who made it home from those who never did.
The single biggest factor determining whether families rebuilt?
Whether insurance paid fully and on time.
Recovery follows the money.
Now consider what the new reporting is telling us.
The L.A. recovery is currently moving even slower than those Northern California fires.
Those fires where only 38% of families ever rebuilt, even after eight years.
If the pace we’re seeing today continues, L.A. could end up with even fewer families making it home.
That is the scale of the disaster we are facing.
This is not a problem that can be solved by helping a few families here or there.
The only way to move thousands of families home is to unlock the tens of billions of dollars in insurance funds that are supposed to power recovery but are stalled inside the insurance system.
The SB 254 Study Drops
Sacramento policy watchers have been waiting for months for the SB 254 wildfire study.
This week it was released.
You may recall that earlier this year, after meeting with the study team, I became alarmed that their questions focused on ways to limit utility liability for wildfire damage.
I sent a letter warning about that direction:
Because the SB 254 study will shape California wildfire policy for years, I also shared the letter with Melody Petersen, the Los Angeles Times utilities reporter.
I was surprised when the Times turned that letter into this front-page Sunday story.
So what did the SB 254 study actually recommend?
Let’s start with the bad news.
SB 254 Study: The Bad News
The study calls for what it describes as an “equitable allocation of catastrophe burdens.”
But several proposed reforms would move risk away from utilities and onto the public.
Among them:
• Eliminating inverse condemnation, removing the rule that utilities must compensate property owners when their equipment causes wildfire damage
• Limit claims by those outside the fire perimeter, which would effectively eliminate most smoke damage claims even though toxic ash and contamination routinely travel miles beyond the flames
• Restricting recovery of damages, including caps on ALE and pain and suffering, and setting aggregate limitations on liability per event.
In practice, these changes shift the financial burden of catastrophic fires away from utilities and onto the families who suffer the damage, and ultimately the taxpayers who would be left to shoulder more of the cost of disaster recovery.
The study also proposes a government-run compensation mechanism that could deliver faster payments to future wildfire survivors. That’s similar in concept to our urgent housing relief proposal, but administered by the state rather than utilities.
The Surprising Good News
But the study also contains something else.
It strongly supports the ideas behind two of our insurance reform bills.
SB 877 (Perez)
Our bill requires insurers to disclose all loss estimates, any revisions made to them, and the name and title of who made the changes.
The study calls for insurers to disclose “all loss estimates to policyholders in writing, including any revisions to estimates and the reason for those changes and who authorized the changes.”
SB 878 (Perez)
Our bill requires denials to be made in writing, with interest penalties when insurers delay payments owed to policyholders.
The study also recommends that insurers be required to make claim denials in writing, and that insurers be required to “pay interest to the policyholder for any delay in payment of claims to which the policyholder is entitled.”
That is important validation
The state’s own wildfire catastrophe study now recommends two of the core reforms in our claims accountability bills: full transparency for loss estimates and interest penalties when insurers delay payments owed to policyholders.
That is a win worth noting, especially given that the insurance industry has made our legislation its number one target this year and is pouring resources into defeating it.
Our full four bill insurance reform package will be heard in the Senate Insurance Committee on Wednesday, April 22.
Help move these bills out of committee.
Add your name and your organization’s endorsement here:
fixinsurance.org
A Step Toward Utility Accountability
Last week I went to Sacramento to speak before the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee about AB 1744 (Boerner), a bill with a simple idea: utilities should have to audit their wildfire mitigation spending before collecting more money from customers.
Right now utilities collect roughly $9 billion a year from Californians for wildfire mitigation.
But the last time this spending was independently audited, in 2021, investigators found utilities could not account for $2.5 billion of the $6 billion they had collected for that purpose. Despite that finding, regulators still continue to let utilities collect billions more each year.
This is not just about accountability.
It is also about safety.
After a nine-month investigation for the Los Angeles Times, Melody Petersen reported that Edison collected about $500 million for wildfire mitigation work in the four years before the Eaton Fire that was never spent.
In this week’s LA Times article announcing our 11-0 vote out of committee, I shared a simple truth:
“Californians funded the wildfire prevention. And we survivors paid the price when that work was not done.”
That’s why the Every Fire Survivor’s Network and Consumer Watchdog sponsored AB 1744, coauthored by Assemblymember John Harabedian.
When utility lobbyists learned that EFSN was involved, we heard they asked the bill author’s office:
How did the fire survivors get involved in this bill?
Here’s the answer.
We cannot change what happened here in Altadena.
But for everyone’s sake, we can strengthen transparency, accountability, and safety.
AB 1744 is about preventing the next Eaton Fire.
Rally for Recovery Pickleball Festival
We’re excited to announce that the Rally for Recovery Pickleball Festival has been rescheduled.
Saturday, August 22 | 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
The new date allows us to elevate the experience with a dedicated morning tournament so we can kick off the day with high energy play and build into a powerful community celebration.
What to expect:
• Morning pickleball tournament
• Center court play featuring survivors and special guests
• Wine garden
• Live DJ
• Food trucks and community gathering
We are designing the day to bring both impact and energy, supporting survivors while creating a space to come together, connect, and have fun.
Call for Volunteers: Help Shape the Future of the Pacific Palisades Recovery
Volunteer to be part of a community-led recovery in Pacific Palisades by joining or supporting a Pacific Palisades Community Council Advisory Task Force (ATF). These neighbor-led groups bring together informed, committed residents to help shape long-term rebuilding — gathering knowledge, providing community perspective, and identifying priorities across critical areas like wildfire resilience, evacuation planning, traffic management, and advocacy topics. Their role is not to replace official processes, but to ensure that when City, County, State, and Federal agencies seek input, the Palisades is ready to engage with a clear, credible, and unified voice.
Beyond task force participation, there will be ongoing opportunities for the broader community to share ideas, raise concerns, and propose projects through public engagement efforts. Whether you bring professional expertise, lived experience, or a strong commitment to recovery, your involvement can help ensure the Palisades shapes its future rather than reacts to it.
Express your interest here. https://www.pali411.com/volunteer
Screening of All the Walls Came Down + Panel Discussion & Reception
Wednesday, April 15, 2026 | 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
540 W Woodbury Rd, Altadena, CA 91001
Media and community members are invited to the first Altadena screening of the Oscar shortlisted documentary All the Walls Came Down.
The film captures the human impact of the Altadena fires and the ongoing recovery efforts within the community.
Following the screening, I will moderate a panel discussion involving director Ondi Timoner, My TRIBE Rise founder Heavenly Hughes, and Community 3.0x CEO Greg Apodaca.
Proceeds from the event will support ongoing fire recovery initiatives. Pre registration is encouraged, and organizers note that no one will be turned away.
Register here.
Here’s my takeaway from all the news this week:
Right now, Los Angeles is recovering more slowly than communities after previous fires.
But history also shows something important.
When survivors organize, seek accountability, and work with leaders to unlock the funds that power rebuilding, the trajectory of recovery can change.
That work belongs to all of us.
Together, we can still change the story of our recovery.
Have a good week.
Hugs,
Joy
The Every Fire Survivors Network (EFSN) is the nation's largest survivor recovery hub, connecting more than 10,000 Eaton, Palisades, and Malibu fire survivors and allies. Through survivor leadership and coordination, we work to remove barriers and unlock resources so that recovery is accessible to everyone. Learn more: efsurvivors.net.
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