Rebuild:LA Episode 074: Why Are The Palisades and Altadena So Slow to Recover with Politico’s Liam Dillon

Send us Fan Mail38%. That’s the surprisingly small percentage of residents who have rebuilt after wildfires in California since 2017. Recent building permit requests and housing starts in Pacific Palisades and Altadena are even smaller in number. What many elected officials promised would be the fastest recovery on record after the January 2025 Firestorm has not materialized. Why? That’s what host Cameron Barrett asked journalist Liam Dillon this week on Rebuild:LA. He’s been writing on politics and policy in Los Angeles for the last 15 years. It was his article last fall in the Los Angeles Times that uncovered the 38% statistic, and another, more recent article of his in POLITICO specifically looks at the recovery in Palisades and Altadena. Why aren’t California wildfire victims rebuilding? Liam Dillon lays out his findings in this, the first episode in a two-part series.Resources:California leaders promised fire recovery in record time. Los Angeles isn’t seeing it. POLITICO22,500 homes lost. Over five years later, only 38% rebuilt: What California fire survivors face - Los Angeles TimesSupport the show