One Year After the Eaton and Palisades Fires, Survivors Unite to Unlock the Billions Needed to Come Home

Survivor-led coalition of more than 10,000 survivors and allies details how collective action has already moved over $100 million in delayed insurance payments, and why tens of billions more must be delivered

ALTADENA, Calif. — One year after the Eaton and Palisades fires, survivors described a recovery moving unevenly, with some households beginning to rebuild while many others remain displaced, watching savings drain as payments they are owed arrive slowly or not at all.

Speakers characterized the recovery as K-shaped. At the top of the K are families who had wealth before the fires, and those whose insurance claims were paid fully and on time. At the bottom are most survivors, still displaced one year later, facing mounting debt, housing instability, and the risk of permanent displacement.

Speakers said this pattern closely mirrors outcomes from past California wildfires.

Reporting by the Los Angeles Times found that after five major California fires between 2017 and 2020, only 38% of destroyed homes were rebuilt eight years later. Communities returned only when insurance paid fully and on time and when utilities paid when they were responsible. Where those payments did not arrive, displacement became long-term.

“That history shows exactly what’s happening here,” said Joy Chen, executive director of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network and a smoke damage survivor. “Recovery accelerates when the money shows up. When it doesn’t, families are pushed out.”

One year later, most families are still not home

New survey data from the Department of Angels shows that about 70% of Eaton and Palisades survivors remain displaced one year after the fires. Nearly half report exhausting most or all of their savings, and more than 40% have taken on new debt to cover rent, storage, repairs, and basic living expenses.

According to the Eaton Fire Collaborative Housing Impact Survey, the Eaton Fire decimated local affordable housing, causing rents to double or triple overnight. Because of those increases, insurance housing coverage that was designed to last two to three years is being consumed far more quickly, leaving most displaced families facing the end of their coverage in the coming months.

Local mental health providers report rising suicidal ideation among survivors, which speakers said is closely linked to prolonged financial strain and housing instability rather than lack of effort or resilience.

“This is not about people giving up,” Chen said. “It’s about families running out of the funds they need to move forward with their recovery.”

Housing coverage is expiring as families face homelessness

Those pressures are already playing out for families whose housing coverage has ended or is about to expire.

Ada Hernandez, a total-loss homeowner with two young children, said temporary housing support provided through charitable assistance ends Jan. 14, after which her family faces the prospect of homelessness while continuing to pay a mortgage on a destroyed home.

“After that, my family may be living in our car,” Hernandez said. “Urgent housing relief would keep us housed while we rebuild. Without housing, recovery collapses.”

Edison and urgent housing relief

Speakers said Southern California Edison represents a second critical source of recovery funding, particularly to keep families housed while rebuilding unfolds.

A broad civic coalition representing more than 40,000 residents, over 250 nonprofit organizations, and 150 faith leaders has come together to call on Edison to advance urgent housing relief for families displaced by the Eaton Fire.

Christy Zamani, CEO of Day One and a leader of the Eaton Fire Collaborative Leadership Council, pointed to survey data showing that the Eaton Fire decimated affordable housing, causing local rents to double or triple.

“Our urgent housing relief proposal would keep families housed now,” Zamani said. “It would prevent mass homelessness and allow recovery to finally move forward for all families.”

Supporters said the proposal would function as a short-term cash-flow bridge, separate from long-term settlements, enabling families to remain housed while rebuilding and insurance claims proceed.

Insurance delays and underpayments as a central barrier

Survivors and officials said insurance delays and underpayments remain a central barrier to recovery.

According to Department of Angels data, 70% of insured Eaton and Palisades survivors report that delays, denials, or underpayments are blocking their recovery. Survivors described months without responses, frequent adjuster changes, and revised loss estimates that reduced payouts without new testing or explanation.

Claire Thompson, a homeowner and small business owner, said her family paid insurance premiums for nearly a decade and was initially told their smoke-damaged home needed to be taken down to the studs, a determination that was later reversed.

“The fire damage to my house did not change,” Thompson said. “But the loss estimate did, and it was reduced to an amount that made recovery impossible.”

Coalition leaders said Thompson’s experience is representative. The Eaton Fire Survivors Network has documented nearly 500 accounts of delayed, denied, or underpaid claims in what is known as The State Farm Files, linking those cases to alleged violations of state insurance law.

Survivors said prolonged delays force families to choose between continuing to contest underpayments or accepting less than they are owed to remain housed.

Survivor voices across generations

Rose Robinson said the fire erased not only her home but generations of family history rooted in Pasadena and Altadena. She is the daughter of Olympic silver medalist Mack Robinson and the niece of baseball great Jackie Robinson.

She lost all family heirlooms in the fire, including her father’s Olympic medal. In the months that followed, Robinson moved repeatedly, packing all of her remaining belongings into her car, leaving space only for the driver’s seat. As the strain compounded, she was hospitalized and later went on state disability, unable to continue working.

Robinson said, “This shows that recovery cannot depend on who you are or what your family contributed. Tenants matter. Survivors matter.”

How $100 million finally moved

Coalition leaders detailed two moments when coordinated survivor action led directly to large-scale insurance payments.

In April, at the 100-day anniversary of the fires, survivors held a press conference calling on regulators to intervene after months of stalled claims. That same day, State Farm increased its default contents payout for Eaton and Palisades survivors from 50% to 65% of policy limits without requiring itemized lists.

Coalition leaders said that single policy change released approximately $90 million directly to survivors who had been waiting for months.

After months of appeals to state regulators failed to produce action, survivors brought their evidence of insurer misconduct to Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. In November, the county launched a formal investigation into State Farm’s handling of Eaton and Palisades fire claims.

Within one day of the investigation’s announcement, survivors reported checks arriving that had been stalled for nearly a year. Coalition leaders said tens of millions of additional dollars moved as a result.

“This didn’t happen because individual families fought harder,” Chen said. “It happened because survivors moved together, shared evidence, and sought accountability.”

One family, one check, one turning point

Mark Mariscal, a local community leader caring for his grandchildren, described what that shift meant for his family.

For months, Mariscal said, his insurance claim remained unresolved while his family depleted savings and lacked the funds to begin rebuilding.

“Right after the county investigation launched, State Farm sent me $346,000,” Mariscal said. “That money finally made it possible for our family to rebuild. Before that, we were stuck.”

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the outcome demonstrated both the power of collaboration and the important role of oversight.

“When survivors brought forward clear evidence and data, the county didn’t hesitate—we immediately acted,” Supervisor Barger said. “Money that had been stalled began to flow. This was a big deal and an important milestone for Altadena.”

Federal funds as the third pillar

Miguel Santana, president and CEO of the California Community Foundation, said federal funding is the third essential pillar of recovery and remains incomplete.

“Survivors face an especially precarious reality, at risk of long-term displacement at extraordinary cost. The utility company responsible for the fires, insurance companies, and the federal government have the duty, scale, and resources to step up alongside state and local government, philanthropy, community, and private partners to ensure people can rebuild their lives and return home, ” said Santana. “When everyone makes good on their legal and moral obligations to ensure funding reaches survivors, families can get home. Otherwise, the destruction of displacement becomes permanent.”

Legislative response and oversight

State Senator Sasha Renée Pérez announced the introduction of two bills aimed at curbing illegal insurance delays and underpayments.

“So many Eaton Fire survivors have had their recoveries needlessly blocked by insurance companies with their long delays and questionable decisions/dealings. This can’t continue,” said Senator Pérez. “I am introducing two pieces of legislation— one that will penalize insurance companies that don’t meet their legal deadlines to make payments and a second that will force insurance companies to show their cards to policyholders when determining loss claim payment amounts. Real transparency and accountability will lead to a faster recovery.”

Assemblymember John Harabedian said a new state audit will examine fire response and recovery failures.

“One year later, we remember the lives lost and devastation caused by the Eaton Fire, but we still don’t have answers about everything that went wrong that night. My state-led audit will shed light on what happened, provide the transparency needed to hold those responsible accountable, and prevent future disasters. Justice is not optional, and protecting our communities is not negotiable.”

The road ahead

Chen said the past year has clarified both the challenge and the opportunity ahead.

“In one year, survivors unlocked real money by finding each other and working together,” she said. “Connection turned into coordination. Coordination started to move the money that recovery requires.”

She said the implications extend far beyond Los Angeles.

“Disasters are accelerating across the country,” Chen said. “If you pay insurance premiums. If you pay taxes. If you expect the systems you fund to work when it matters most, then this story is about you too. How we unlock the billions needed for recovery is how America learns to come home after disaster.”