The Pacific Palisades and Altadena areas of California are being rebuilt a year after the devastating wildfires, but the process will not be completely smooth or quick.
Construction workers are rebuilding 500 of the over 16,000 structures that burned down, CBS News reported Sunday, noting about 80 percent of the community members who survived the horrific fires are still displaced.
“For those who are trying to rebuild their homes, the process has been marred by insurance industry woes. Insurers aren’t just fleeing; some of those that remain haven’t paid up, leaving an estimated 70% of survivors facing delays or denials,” the report continued:
“The reality is that the insurance industry has been broken for a long time,” said Los Angeles County Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “And it’s really unfortunate that it came to this, and that the survivors are the ones that are feeling, really, the system broken in a way that’s impacting their ability to move on. Many are still waiting, are still fighting with insurance.”
Barger is the local official responsible for Altadena’s recovery. She says many families are already feeling pushed out, and critical federal funding to help rebuild is on hold as the government reviews an estimated $40 billion in aid.
Many survivors are planning a gathering on the one-year anniversary of the fires on Wednesday that devastated their homes in the Pacific Palisades to demand answers from Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), Breitbart News reported Saturday.
“THEY LET US BURN through gross negligence, mismanagement, poor preparedness, lack of infrastructure and protocol. THEY LET US BURN today with gaslighting, lack of transparency, accountability and vision,” the group said.
Video footage shows some of the devastation the fires left behind:
Meanwhile, Newsom has been accused of shifting attention away from the Pacific Palisades fire to focus on so-called “climate change” and insurance access, per Breitbart News.
The outlet said, “Newsom’s remarks arrive as victims and lawmakers continue to question his leadership and accountability in the wake of a fire that destroyed nearly 7,000 structures and killed 12 people in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu areas alone. Newsom has faced scrutiny from federal officials, legal challenges from displaced residents, and intense criticism from those who accuse his administration of negligence, obstruction, and policy exploitation in the aftermath of the blaze.”
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In November, a lawsuit filed by more than 3,000 residents alleged California authorities failed to properly monitor the embers in the days before the Pacific Palisades fire swept through the area, according to Breitbart News.
A suspect was arrested in October in connection with the Palisades fire. He was identified as Jonathan Rinderknecht of Melbourne, Florida.
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