We have a happy update for you. There's a block in Altadena, West Poppyfields Drive, and it's coming back. So far there are 9 houses in the process of rebuilding and a handful of them have all four walls up, roofs, porches, and even front doors attached and windows in. That includes Whitney's Haggins's house. We've been following her efforts to rebuild  -- and that of her neighbors -- since last fall when she decided to go with a home design from the Foothill Catalog that had been pre-approved by Los Angeles County so she did need to wait for months on a building permit. The design is for a Craftsman, called The Lewis, and so far her plan is paying off. Whitney thinks she might be moving back home by next January, if not by Christmas. In this episode, we bring you the update on how Whitney and her neighborhood are coming along, plus a re-run of the two-part series we did on the Poppyfields people back in June.

GUESTS: Whitney Haggins and John Hall, Eaton fire survivors 

 The LA fires destroyed more than 13,000 structures, but thousands more were left standing in their wake. They were not burned, but saturated in smoke. Even homes beyond the perimeter of the burn zone had smoke damage. But there still hasn't been a lot of testing of these structures — or the soil around them — to see what toxins remain, leaving doubt in the minds of some survivors about whether it's safe to come back.

In the absence of the federal government, a handful of local government organizations, universities, and nonprofits have stepped in to help with soil testing. The latest effort is coming from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. They just announced a $3 million program in conjunction with some nonprofits groups to test and clean the soil at homes still standing in the areas impacted by the Eaton Fire.

GUEST: Tony Briscoe, Environmental Reporter for the L.A. Times.

Feds won’t test soil after L.A. wildfire cleanup: https://www.latimes.com/00000194-fcb2-df26-a396-fdb326f10000-123.   Uncovering the toxic soil lurking in L.A.’s burn zones: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-05-04/treated-like-dirt-soil-testing-project.  

L.A. County Board of Supervisors Advances Soil Remediation Program to Protect Altadena Families After Eaton Fire: https://kathrynbarger.lacounty.gov/l-a-county-board-of-supervisors-advances-1m-soil-remediation-program-to-protect-altadena-families-after-eaton-fire/

The insurance crisis has been well documented after these disasters - people who didn’t have insurance, or not enough insurance, or just can’t get their claims covered. But some folks have made it through that whole process, only to hit another roadblock: their mortgage lenders are holding onto the money.

Grace Toohey, a breaking news reporter for the Los Angeles Times, has been in touch with homeowners who say this is a growing issue – and one that has forced them to delay or halt construction on their new homes.

GUEST: Los Angeles Times Fast Break Reporter Grace Toohey

Read Grace's article: Fire survivors were finally ready to rebuild homes. A new barrier is leaving them ‘demoralized: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-07-17/fire-survivors-were-finally-ready-to-rebuild-new-barrier-is-leaving-them-demoralized

 For years now, the home insurance market in California has been broken, with carriers suddenly dropping customers without warning and little explanation, leaving them vulnerable to losing everything. The survivors of LA's recent fires know this all too well, and they want someone to fix it. Jane Kim, candidate for state insurance commissioner, has a big plan to upend the system and offer every Californian a public-run disaster insurance plan. She’s calling it “natural disaster insurance for all’. Kim, an attorney and former San Francisco supervisor, is running against State Sen. Benjamin Allen for the role of running California’s long-beleaguered Department of Insurance and she talks to Rebuilding L.A. host Kate Cagle about why she should get the job. GUEST: Attorney Jane Kim, former state director of the Working Families Party Jane Kim's priorities: https://www.janekim.org/priorities. Jane Kim: Now is the time for Disaster Insurance for All: https://www.ocregister.com/2026/05/02/jane-kim-now-is-the-time-for-disaster-insurance-for-all/. Your guide to the California insurance commissioner’s race: Who will replace Ricardo Lara? https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-05-01/2026-california-election-insurance-commissioner-voter-guide

The race to take the top job at California's Department of Insurance is typically a sleeper. But the role of Insurance Commissioner is getting a lot more attention after the fires of January 2025. Once of the candidates is State Senator Ben Allen. He represents the 24th Senate District, which includes the Pacific Palisades -- an area that lost thousands of homes in the Palisades fire. The other is attorney Jane Kim, who has been endorsed by Vermont independent Senator Bernie Sanders. Both have similar goals should they get the job  -- lower rates, hold insurance companies accountable, get homeowners off the state's Fair Plan -- but each differ on how to get there. Senator Allen has put his money on fire mitigation and bringing stakeholders together in communities up and down the state to reduce their risk and stay insured. In this episode, Host Kate Cagle speaks with Allen about his plans.

GUEST: California State Senator Ben Allen, 24th District

Senator Ben Allen's plan to stabilize the insurance market: https://www.benallenca.com/issues Legislators eye new prevention efforts in fire-scarred California: ‘A tipping point’: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-03-04/california-legislators-introduce-bill-package-to-address-wildfires 

Your guide to the California insurance commissioner’s race: Who will replace Ricardo Lara? https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-05-01/2026-california-election-insurance-commissioner-voter-guide

Note: Attorney Jane Kim, Allen’s opponent in the insurance commissioner’s race, talks about her plans to reduce insurance costs in the next episode of Rebuilding L.A.

The June trial against alleged arsonist Jonathan Rinderknecht, the Uber driver accused of setting a fire that ultimately became the Palisades fire, ended in a mistrial. He is due back in court in October but it's unclear whether anything about the case will change, or if new evidence will emerge, that could alter the outcome in the fall. During the June trial, the majority of jurors moved to acquit Rinderknecht. We discuss the case with LA Times Brittny Mejia, Metro reporter for the L.A. Times, who covered the court case, and former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani.

GUESTS:

LA Times Metro reporter Brittny Mejia                                                                            

Neama Rahmani, former federal prosecutor and president/ co-founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers

Mistrial declared in Palisades fire arson case, a stunning blow to U.S. prosecutors: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-06-26/jonathan-rinderknecht-verdict-palisades-fire

In the past decade, California has experienced fourteen of the most destructive fires on record. And there are a lot of factors that contribute to these mega-fires we've experienced: heat, dry vegetation, wind. But there always has to be a spark.

After a series of destructive wildfires in 2017 and 18 – including the Camp Fire that destroyed the town of Paradise, California –  Governor Gavin Newsom created the “California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force” to address the growing threat of fire.

For the last several years, that group has been focused on land management, hardening neighborhoods and perhaps the most elusive - preventing humans from accidentally starting a fire on a bad day.                                                                                                                              

In this episode of Rebuilding L.A., host Kate Cagle talks to some of the members of this task force to learn what the state is doing differently to mitigate our first risk. You can see their draft proposal below -- you can also weigh in and share your thoughts on the link provided.    

GUESTS:  

Patrick Wright, Director of the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force.                                                                                      

Michael O’Connell, president and CEO of Irvine Ranch Conservancy .              

Jeff Heys. Shared Stewardship Coordinator with the U.S. Forest Service.

Draft Wildfire and Landscape Resilience Action Plan: https://actionplan2026.wildfiretaskforce.org/    

How you can weigh in on the proposal: https://airtable.com/appvMJm0wvHBu2yHG/pagoOh9dwKxPIPeur/form

Climate change isn’t getting nearly as much credit for last January’s destructive fires as it once did. Evidence of failed electrical equipment, alleged arson, and government missteps has dominated the conversation. But when you talk to the scientists and the researchers, the risks posed by climate change are still very much in the mix. But human activity plays a role, too.

UCLA professor and climate scientist, Alex Hall, joins host Kate Cagle to talk about how we can better prepare ourselves for the next mega-fire, including a proposal to create a classification system -- and a standardized response -- for Santa Ana wind storms, similar to the one we use for hurricanes in the U.S.

GUEST: Alex Hall, Director, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA

Study: Climate Change A Factor In Unprecedented LA Fires: https://sustainablela.ucla.edu/2025lawildfires Expert Perspective: Wildland Fuels Management Would Not Have Saved Us from the January 2025 LA FiresCalifornia Ecosystem Futures: The Future of California Drought, Fire, and Forest Dieback: https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/project/future-california-drought-fire-forest-dieback/

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently approved California's request to extend housing assistance to survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires. But more than 18 months after those January 2025 fires, survivors are still waiting on an additional $16 billion in federal disaster relief from the federal government, which was revised down earlier this year from nearly $34 billion.  California leaders say this is unprecedented — the federal government has always sent money to communities recovering from disasters — and that the lack of this funding is directly impacting the rebuild. So where is it?

Congresswoman Judy Chu is hopeful, based on recent conversations between state and federal officials, that this issue could be resolved within the next few months.  In this episode, Rep. Chu joins host Kate Cagle to discuss this as well as other support she and the state are working on to help survivors recover and rebuild, including a proposed $100 million rebuilding fund which, if enacted in the state budget, could be announced later this summer.

GUEST: U.S. Representative Judy Chu, CA-28

Rep. Chu Commends Passage of Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2025: https://chu.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-chu-commends-passage-federal-disaster-tax-relief-act-2025                                                                             U.S. House of Representatives Passes Bill to Shield Eaton Fire Settlements From Federal Taxes: https://www.altadena-now.com/main/government/u-s-house-of-representatives-passes-bill-to-shield-eaton-fire-settlements-from-federal-taxes/ Governor Newsom announces revised budget that eliminates California’s deficit, maintains investment for fire survivors: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/05/14/may-revise/

Long after the smoke cleared and the news crews left, many fire survivors are still carrying grief, anxiety, and the emotional weight of losing a community, a routine, and a sense of place.

In this episode of Rebuilding LA, we visit Saved By A Story, a writing workshop founded by Palisades fire survivor Kathy Katims. The monthly gatherings bring together survivors of the Palisades and Eaton fires to write, reflect, and share their experiences in community.

Eighteen months after the disaster, this episode explores how storytelling can help survivors process trauma, reconnect with one another, and begin to reclaim what was lost.

GUESTS: Kathy Katims, founder of Saved By A Story, and members of the wildfire survivors writing group, including Karen Lee Hopkins, Millie Hopkins, Manson Jones, and other survivors of the Palisades and Eaton fires