It turns out you can burn down a neighborhood and not destroy a community. The one great silver lining to these fires in Los Angeles is that survivors are transcending the physical ties. No matter how much has been destroyed or how far people have been scattered, relationships between neighbors have become deeper.                                                                                                                                                                        

We’ve seen evidence of this all across L.A., in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Altadena, and so we will head back to one neighborhood -- one street  -- that’s a pretty good example of that bond: West Poppyfields Drive in Altadena.

GUESTS: Altadena residents Whitney Haggins, John Hall, Pat and Kate Gray, Sandra and Donald Estes, and Shelley Thai. 

Eighteen months after the Eaton and Palisades Fires, it's not gotten any easier for survivors. But there are good things happening. People are rebuilding. Survivors are making plans to return to these burned out communities — and it's not just one person at a time, but neighbors are coming back and rebuilding together. 

One street where that's happening is Poppyfields Drive in Altadena. Resident Whitney Haggins has been charging ahead on her rebuild since her home burned down in January 2025, and at least 6 of her neighbors are following in her footsteps. It may be not the typical but it is a story of optimism that these residents hope will rub off on more people throughout Altadena.

GUEST: Whitney Haggins, Eaton Fire Survivor 

This is a sponsored episode, paid for by Southern California Edison, and does not involve the L.A. Times Newsroom.

It’s been more than a year since the Eaton and Palisades Fires. And since then, Southern California Edison has focused on recovery initiatives including the launch of a new one-stop resource center designed to help Altadena community members navigate the rebuild and recovery process.

To hear more about SCE’s commitment to help communities recover and rebuild, host Audrey Ngo speaks with Edison International president & CEO Pedro Pizarro, SCE executive vice president and COO Jill Anderson and Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros, who designed the Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program.

They’ll discuss how SCE is supporting the Altadena and Malibu communities’ recovery and rebuilding efforts, the community’s role in shaping the Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program, steps SCE is taking to strengthen its wildfire mitigation approach and the launch of the Altadena Rebuild and Community Hub.

GUESTS:

Pedro Pizarro, Edison International president & CEO

Jill Anderson, SCE executive vice president and COO

Kenneth R. Feinberg and Camille S. Biros, Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program Designers

To learn more about SCE’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program: 

https://sce.com/directclaims

To learn more about the Altadena Rebuild and Community Hub:

 https://energized.edison.com/stories/sce-opens-altadena-rebuild-community-hub

The fire in the Pacific Palisades was still smoldering when Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass announced we would rebuild. Now, almost 18 months later, progress has been a mixed bag. Yes, homes are going up, but there still doesn't seem to be a "plan" for the return of all these neighborhoods, prompting many to ask whether we've moved too fast and without a bigger vision for making these communities whole again.

These are provocative questions we’ve been trying to answer - who is this all for?  Author and CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti attempts to answer some of them in his new book about the Palisades Fire — and names a motive for a quick rebuild: the Olympic games coming to Los Angeles in 2028. His book is titled “Torched: How a City Was Left to Burn, and the Olympic Rush to Rebuild L.A”

GUEST: CBS News Correspondent & Author of "Torched," Jonathan Vigliotti

Excerpt of "Torched: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/book-excerpt-torched-by-jonathan-vigliotti-pacific-palisades-altadena/.                                                                                                                                                                

Find the Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Torched/Jonathan-Vigliotti/9781668219034.              

Op-Ed: L.A. is rebuilding for the Olympics, not the next fire: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2026-02-11/la-fires-rebuild-for-olympics

About 2 in 3 fire survivors are still displaced and, as coverage for temporary housing disappears, that number could get increase. That's according to the latest report from Department of Angels, a nonprofit that regularly surveys survivors from both the Eaton and Palisades Fires to monitor how the recovery from the L.A. fires is going. As people continue to wait on insurance payouts and building materials get more expensive, the hope that many people had for rebuilding their homes is dwindling.  This "hope gap" underscores the need for the nearly $34 billion in Federal funds that California Gov. Gavin Newsom has requested.                                                                            

Additionally, on May 8, Newsom asked for a 12-month extension from Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster assistance program for the fire victims.

GUESTS: Andrew King, Eaton Fire Survivor and Head of engagement and Education for Department of Angels + Miguel Santana, President & Chief Executive Officer, California Community Foundation, and  co-founder of the Department with Snapchat's Evan Spiegel.

Department of Angels' Community Voices: LA Fire Report: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6792c245599ed84703227b1e/t/69fb99d59526446388bdd51b/1778096597336/Department+of+Angels+Community+Voices+LA                                                

Nearly half of L.A. fire survivors face crisis as temporary housing funds dry up, survey finds: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-05-07/nearly-40-of-la-fire-survivors-face-crisis-as-temporary-housing-funds-dry-up-survey-finds

There's a big election this year, and we are not just talking about the congressional midterm races. There's a lot of consequential local races, too, including one for LA's next mayor. As incumbent mayor Karen Bass Bass campaigns to stay in office, there's a big question about how much LA's fire recovery will dominate the political narrative — and your vote. There's more than a dozen candidates currently on the ballot. Can Bass hold on to her seat? Or could councilmember Nithya Raman or reality star Spencer Pratt take it?

GUEST: Noah Goldberg, City Hall Reporter, Los Angeles Times.  

Voter guide to the 2026 California primary election: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-05-01/2026-california-election-voter-guide-primaryIn                            

L.A. mayor’s race, everyone is campaigning on change — even the incumbent: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-04-06/in-la-mayors-race-everyone-is-campaigning-on-change-even-incumbent                                                                                

In L.A. mayor’s race, controversial poll shows Nithya Raman ahead of Karen Bass: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-03-30/in-la-mayors-race-controversial-poll-shows-nithya-raman-ahead-of-incumbent-karen-bass                                                            

Pratt and Raman lead Bass in latest fundraising for L.A. mayoral race: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-04-24/pratt-raman-lead-bass-in-latest-fundraising-for-la-mayoral-race                                                                    

Spencer Pratt’s time in Santa Barbara County likely won’t affect his bid for L.A. mayor, analysts say: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-04-10/spencer-pratts-time-in-santa-barbara-county-likely-wont-affect-his-bid-for-la-mayor-analysts-sayå

After the first sign of fire was spotted in the foothills above Altadena, a WhatsApp chat meant to set up pickleball games started going off.  As the devastation became clear, that chat soon turned into a community disaster hub. The Eaton Fire Survivors Network — now known as the *Every Fire Survivors Network  — is composed of thousands of people across LA's burn zones who are fighting to rebuild their community — and taking on the insurance industry while they’re at it.

GUEST: Joy Chen, Executive Director, Every Fire Survivors Network

LINKS:

The Every Fire Survivor Network (EFSN) website: https://www.efsurvivors.net/.            

Read about the insurance legislation EFSN is behind: https://www.efsurvivors.net/fix-insurance    

These hidden rules reveal how California insurers undercut wildfire claims, leaving families in damaged homes: https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2025/california-insurance-hidden-rules/#:~:text=Speed%20trumps%20accuracy:%20The%20directions,insurers%20follow%20the%20same%20playbook

California leaders promised fire recovery in record time. Los Angeles isn’t seeing it: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/13/california-leaders-los-angeles-fire-recovery-delays-00867498

UPDATE ON CA INSURANCE BILLS STILL ALIVE IN THE LEGISLATURE (Copy courtesy of EFSN's newsletter ):

• SB 1301 (Allen): Requires six months advance notice before nonrenewal, documented reasons, and a chance to fix the problem.

•SB 877 (Pérez): Requires insurers to show you their original loss estimate and any revised one. We deserve to see both.

•SB 878 (Pérez): Requires insurers to respond to claims in writing and adds automatic interest penalties when they violate existing laws on deadlines.

Learn more at fixinsurance.org.

If we’ve come to understand anything while reporting out this podcast, it’s that California burns. It always has. It always will. The question is whether we can build communities better to withstand the risk? There’s been a lot of talk and ideas proposed about building safer, more fire resilient neighborhoods — and not just individual houses, but community infrastructure, too. But there’s yet to be a solid plan for implementing any of these things, or for figuring out how to pay for them. In the Palisades, there’s a lot of people – mostly residents – who are trying to move things along. Today we are talking with one of them.

GUEST: Robert Lempert, Palisades Fire survivor and Director/ Policy Researcher at RAND

The next Community Recovery Lab is coming up on April 25: https://palirecovery.org/2026/03/19/taking-the-next-step/.                                   The Palisades Recovery Coalition: https://palirecovery.org/                                 

His computer simulations help communities survive disasters. Can they design a Palisades that never burns? https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-12-17/can-palisades-residents-design-a-city-that-never-burns 

LA lawyers have been busy. Eaton and Palisades fire survivors have filed thousands of lawsuits, and  at least one criminal case is pending. How might these cases play out, and how long will it all take? The outcome of these cases could make or break the recovery, and affect whether or not the residents of these affected communities can rebuild. 

GUESTS: Richard Winton, Investigative Crime Writer for the L.A. Times, and Neama Rahmani, former federal prosecutor and president, West Coast Trial Lawyers.

Florida man ‘maliciously’ started Palisades fire, then tried to cover his tracks, authorities allege: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-10-08/palisades-fire-arrest Defense lawyer for man charged with igniting deadly 

Palisades fire calls case thin and labels it scapegoating: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-10-16/defense-lawyer-for-man-charged-with-igniting-deadly-palisades-fire-calls-case-thin-and-labels-it-scapegoating 

Timeline: Two fateful hours that planted the seeds of destruction in Pacific Palisades:https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-10-08/la-me-palisades-fire-timeline 

Rebuilding LA S1 Episode about the arrest : "An Arrest, A Report, And Little Closure For Palisades Fire Victims": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeIwt-4eWU8&list=PLbQOBfbdbTeNUJ9LARXDUjl8Z yfWpSStV&index=49                              

Rebuilding LA S2 Episode 2: "Where There's Smoke: Uncovering The Origins Of The Palisades Fire": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vcc5kgOh5Q&list=PLbQOBfbdbTeNUJ9LARXDUjl8ZyfWpSStV&index=1 

Last October, the U.S. Department of Justice revealed a stunning accusation — alleging that a young Uber driver from Florida caused the death and destruction in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu. It's theory rested on belief that the Palisades Fire was a rekindling of a week old fire, the Lachman Fire, that this man, Jonathan Rinderknecht,  had, allegedly, intentionally started with a flick of a lighter on New Year's Day.

LA city firefighters said they believed that first fire had been put out. Federal investigators stressed that it burned so deep underground it could not be detected. But then evidence began to emerge that told a different narrative. The question: did concerns the fire was still smoldering go ignored?

This episode examines what we know about what happened between the Lachman Fire and the Palisades Fire, and the missteps and miscommunication that may have led to one of California's most destructive fires in history. 

GUEST: Arlene Tchekmedyian, LA Times Investigative Reporter 

Links: 

LAFD After-Action Report - Drafts and Final: https://lafd.org/news/palisades-afteraction-review-report-drafts-and-final

3 critical days, many ignored warnings: How the LAFD failed to prevent the Palisades inferno: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-03-11/lafd-testimony-details-missed-chances-to-fully-put-out-lachman-fire

Who made the call to leave the Lachman fire? In sworn testimony, LAFD officials pass the buck: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-03-01/who-made-call-to-leave-lachman-fire-in-sworn-testimony-lafd-officials-pass-buck   

L.A. firefighter testifies that Lachman fire was not fully put out. ‘I saw ... red hot coals’: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-02-26/la-firefighter-testifies-that-lachman-fire-was-not-fully-put-out-when-crews-were-ordered-to-leave.                                                           

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass directed Palisades fire damage control, email shows: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-02-13/mayor-karen-bass-directed-palisades-fire-damage-control-emails-show