It’s been a year since two fires tore through Los Angeles County, killing 31 people and destroying 16,000 structures, and the disaster is still unfolding as thousands of people continue pick up the pieces, find new places to live, new jobs, new neighborhoods, and wrestle with whether to return to their old streets, which were burned beyond recognition.

It’s clear that we are still in the very early days of this recovery and there is a long way to go. There’s been some progress but, if you ask them how it’s going, survivors will tell you that not a lot has happened and there are plenty of roadblocks in their path. Many want to rebuild and move back home but still aren’t sure if they can afford it, or what else will be there if they do.

In this episode, taped Monday January 5, host Kate Cagle talks with three people — each from the three areas hit hardest by the fire: Altadena, the Pacific Palisades, and Malibu — and learns more about the challenges most people are still facing.

Guests:

Dana Brumfield, Altadena Resident, Business Manager, Pasadena Rosebud Academy

Wade Major, Malibu Resident, Film Critic, Public Works Commissioner

Nancy Fracchiolla, Pacific Palisades Resident, Actress, Retired Drama Teacher, Palisades High

Other voices in this episode: Palisades resident Tamara Rawitt and Altadena residents Zaire Calvin and Joe Ressa

Links:

LAFD leaders tried to cover up Palisades fire mistakes. The truth still emerged: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-12-31/lafd-leaders-tried-to-cover-up-palisades-fire-mistakes-truth-still-emerged

Thousands of homes need to be built in Malibu, the Pacific Palisades and Altadena over the next decade. With many homeowners still looking for architects and blue prints, there is an opportunity to rethink the modern home.Dustin Bramell is one Palisades Fire who is drawing a parallel to eighty years ago and the Case Study Houses that rose up during the post-World War II building boom.The Case Study movement called for inexpensive and efficient model homes - a kind of blueprint - for a stylish and modern America. Many of those homes are still standing today in Southern california, including the Eames Home, which narrowly escaped the Palisades Fires, and the iconic Stahl House in the Hollywood Hills.The new effort is called “Case Study: Adapt,” and its objective to is to build with the risks of climate change and fire in mind.

Guests: Dustin Bramell, co-founder, Case Study: Adapt
Kathleen Katims, Palisades Resident and co-founder of Saved By A Story

Check out the CSA designs here:See How 16 Families are Rebuilding After the LA Fires: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/see-how-16-families-are-rebuilding-after-the-la-fires
A display of student-constructed CSA home models at the USC school of architecture: https://www.instagram.com/p/DRF82C2Eiu1/ **This exhibit will soon move to the Eames House in 2026.More info on Kathy Katims organization, Saved By A Story: https://www.savedbyastory.com/about

The official investigation into the cause of the Eaton Fire is not over, but power company So-Cal Edison has already said that it likely sparked from their equipment.Edison is facing dozens of lawsuits from survivors, and one from the U-S Department of Justice, accusing the company of not only starting the fire, but also of negligence.Edison says it wants to make things right and has come up with a Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program for survivors. Eligibility is fairly expansive but many survivors say it does not go far enough, especially those who are also struggling with insurance payouts.CEO of Edison International Pedro Pizarro, who lives in the area affected by the Eaton Fire, says he “want to be able to walk into the grocery store and look his neighbors in the eye” so he stopped by in early November to give host Kate Cagle his pitch for the program.

Guest:

Pedro Pizarro, CEO, Edison International
Dana Brumfield, Altadena Resident

Clarification: Dana Brumfield, our guest profiled at the top of the episode, does not endorse Edison’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program at this time. The inclusion of her story is coincidental and not connected to the program currently being offered by So Cal Edison and Edison International.In addition, per her lawyer, the standard rate charged by attorneys representing wildfire survivors is 25 percent. The following interview implies the legal fees could reach as high as 40 percent.

Edison International’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program: https://energized.edison.com/wildfire-recovery-compensation-program

Edison increases compensation for Eaton fire victims, but some say it’s not enough: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-10-30/edison-increases-compensation-for-eaton-fire-victims-but-some-say-its-not-enough