the organization\u2019s latest survivors report<\/a> as listeners called in to share their recovery stories.<\/p>\nInsurance is still top of mind<\/p>\n
When sharing their stories of recovery, insurance was a major focal point for AirTalk listeners.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d like to rebuild, but how do we know how we\u2019ll pay for it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014 Diane in West Los Angeles<\/p>\n
Brooke in Altadena emailed that her parents lost their home in the Eaton Fire. She said that while her parents are committed to rebuilding, their insurance has made it difficult to proceed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey want our parents to itemize every single possession they had in their home and back it up with photos,\u201d Brooke wrote. \u201cThey aren\u2019t from the selfie generation, they don\u2019t have that information. I fear they\u2019re going to leave hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table that they desperately need to rebuild.\u201d<\/p>\n
Santana echoed Brooke\u2019s frustration. Survivors, he said, are, \u201cbeing denied, they\u2019re being delayed; they\u2019re being dismissed by their carriers after paying responsibly for decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mental toll is still heavy<\/p>\n
Though conversations have often focused on the immense devastation to homes and property, AirTalk listeners expressed the mental toll the fires have had on them and their loved ones.<\/p>\n
Eric in Altadena said that since his family lost their home in the Eaton Fire, they\u2019ve relocated to El Sereno.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all day to day from a mental health perspective,\u201d he said. \u201cThe kids are both in therapy. My wife and I are in therapy.\u201d He added that the thing that keeps him going is staying connected with his old neighbors and community.<\/p>\n
The dream of rebuilding<\/p>\n
While many survivors are eager to rebuild, AirTalk listeners explained how the prospect can feel long, tedious and distant.<\/p>\n
Sandra in Altadena said she recently purchased a tiny home that she plans to live in during the rebuild. \u201cI intend to go back up and be in my property so I can tend to what\u2019s left of my garden,\u201d she said, adding that her neighbors all plan to return.<\/p>\n
Diane in west Los Angeles emailed that she lost her home in the Palisades Fire. She\u2019s had to move seven times this year and is currently renting a bungalow that costs more than her former mortgage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019d like to rebuild, but how do we know how we\u2019ll pay for it?\u201d she wrote. \u201cAnd thanks to tariffs and ICE, the costs and stability to rebuild has been broken. The goalposts keep moving and the players are wearing out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision to leave<\/p>\n
Despite dreams of returning, some AirTalk listeners said finances are influencing their ability to stay within their communities.<\/p>\n
Frank in Altadena said his family feels stuck in limbo since losing their home in the Eaton Fire.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur big thing is figuring out how much money do we really have to rebuild,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd if we do have enough to rebuild, is it worth the risk of going back to Altadena?\u201d<\/p>\n
Courtney in Burbank emailed that their rental home in Altadena was destroyed in the fire. \u201cWe\u2019ve run out of money. I haven\u2019t been working due to PTSD from the fire,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ve made the incredibly difficult decision to move to the Midwest to be closer to family where it\u2019s much cheaper.\u201d<\/p>\n
Santana emphasized that as the months and years go by, our collective memory of the fires will soften. However, he told listeners, \u201cit is so important that the rest of us in Los Angeles pay attention to what\u2019s happening to survivors and to not forget them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Listen to the full conversation:<\/p>\n
Checking in on how fire survivors\u2019 recovery efforts are going<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keep up with LAist. If you’re enjoying this article, you’ll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8319,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[5759,8321,48,7068,52,51,47,50,49,8320,8322],"class_list":{"0":"post-8318","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-altadena","9":"tag-eaton","10":"tag-la","11":"tag-la-fires","12":"tag-la-headlines","13":"tag-la-news","14":"tag-los-angeles","15":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","16":"tag-los-angeles-news","17":"tag-palisades","18":"tag-survivors"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}