To date<\/a>, 233 new homes have been completed, 3,851 building permits have been issued and 2,396 residences are under construction. It\u2019s not clear what will come of 2,000 or so properties, Knapp said. So far, 515 lots have been sold, with 44% going to developers, foreign interests and private equity investors.<\/p>\n Almost all the homes on West Palm Street between Olive and Glen were wiped out in January 2025. I met many of the residents<\/a> within weeks of the disaster, and most were committed to rebuilding. Ruffin and Miller<\/a>, whom I\u2019ve known for years through their work helping and housing homeless people<\/a>, will likely be the first to return to West Palm.<\/p>\n Lily Knight and her husband Steve Hofvendahl sold their lot to a nonprofit and bought a place in Washington. <\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Knight and her husband, who couldn\u2019t join us Wednesday, just closed the sale of their property to a nonprofit housing developer whose mission is to address the racial wealth gap. As much as they loved their life on West Palm, selling made sense in more ways than one. They\u2019re both actors, and given their ages and Hollywood\u2018s transformation, opportunities for work were limited.<\/p>\n They had turned their double lot into a robust orchard, with more than 100 fruit trees, and the front porch of their yellow farm house was a neighborhood gathering place. There was no way to replace what had been lost, and having been underinsured stacked the odds against a return. For its climate, natural beauty and less outrageous real estate prices, the Pacific Northwest appealed.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would be building a tiny house on a big piece of property, which, for resale, whenever that needed to happen, wasn\u2019t a good choice,\u201d Knight said.<\/p>\n As we spoke, a symphony of power tools could be heard.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of it had to do with not wanting to be in the crucible of rebuilding,\u201d Knight said of the decision to sell.<\/p>\n Miller and Ruffin never considered moving, except when it appeared they might not be able to afford to rebuild. The house they lost was Ruffin\u2019s home from the time he was a young boy. His father had purchased it in 1972, when Altadena was one of the few suburban areas where Black buyers were welcomed, and Ruffin bought the house from them about 25 years ago.<\/p>\n Anthony Ruffin and wife Jonni Miller walk into their house that is close to being finished in Altadena.<\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n The new house has a modern contemporary design, and in the living room, those big windows show off the mountains. In the kitchen, large accordion windows open to a patio, giving the back of the house an airy, indoor-outdoor feel. The building materials are fire resistant, as are the windows, and the eaves are fire-hardened as well.<\/p>\n As thrilled as Miller and Ruffin are about moving back, they\u2019re wiped out physically and emotionally. Miller still struggles with the loss of family heirlooms. The letter her grandmother wrote her on the day she was born. The silverware that had been in the family for generations. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m ready to be home,\u201d Miller said. \u201cI can\u2019t even explain how tough this is. People keep trying to say, you know, at least you\u2019re getting this beautiful new home. And it\u2019s just kind of like, yeah but \u2026 we didn\u2019t make this choice. Yes, I\u2019m happy. Yes, I\u2019m grateful. But it was a huge cost.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re grateful because there\u2019s people with kids, and working,\u201d whose lives are still unsettled, said Ruffin, who had told me immediately after the fire that for all his woes, he felt fortunate compared with his clients on skid row.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd people are still living in their cars,\u201dMiller said Wednesday in reference to fire victims who are still a long way from home.<\/p>\n Miller and Ruffin have made frequent trips to West Palm to check on the rebuild.<\/p>\n In February 2025, Anthony Ruffin, second from left, celebrates the news that his next door neighbor Julio Partida, left, is planning to rebuild his home. Ruffin\u2019s wife, Jonni Miller, right, and their neighbor Robert S. Hilton look on along West Palm Street in Altadena.<\/p>\n (Genaro Molina \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been really hard, working on skid row, seeing what\u2019s going on there, and coming here to see this devastation, too,\u201d Ruffin said. \u201cYou\u2019re trying to navigate a natural disaster and you\u2019re trying to navigate a man-made disaster. You\u2019re always in a disaster, and there\u2019s no break.\u201d<\/p>\n Before the fire, Ruffin enjoyed a morning meditation. He\u2019d sit in his front yard and take in the mountains as the sun rose and the birds greeted the day.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are rabbits again,\u201d Miller said. \u201cWe saw a bobcat in our backyard. The ravens are amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw some deer one time,\u201d Ruffin said.<\/p>\n A neighbor\u2019s flowers are blooming, and on Knight\u2019s property, survivor trees include pomegranate, sapote, finger lime, orange and banana. Miller is going to take some of those banana pups for her yard, and out front, she\u2019ll plant a pollinator garden.<\/p>\n As we began our goodbyes, Miller conceded that her friend\u2019s planned departure has been a blow.<\/p>\n Jonni Miller gets emotional talking with neighbor Lily Knight, left, about how she and her husband might be able to celebrate Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n \u201cIt was hard for me to talk to Lily for a little bit there, because she was leaving and it\u2019s such a big loss, because you are like a part of my heart,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry,\u201d Knight said as they embraced.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t be sorry,\u201d Miller said. \u201cI\u2019m so happy for you.\u201d<\/p>\n Knight reminded Miller that she\u2019ll be returning often to visit an uncle.<\/p>\n Through loss, displacement, uncertainty and the sometimes unbearable weight of impermanence, people have endured.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of us,\u201d Knight said, \u201chave found our own resilience in one way or another.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Lily](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792845129_892_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Anthony](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792845130_637_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Neighbors](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792845130_238_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Jonni](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792845131_693_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n