Los Angeles wildfires one year later: the long road to recovery

One year ago, the Santa Ana winds fueled one of the most destructive wildfire events in the history of Los Angeles. The Palisades and Eaton fires swept through the region, leaving a landscape defined by ash and uncertainty. The immediate aftermath saw approximately 20,000 properties encompassed by the fire perimeters and insured loss estimates ranging between $35 billion and $45 billion.

As we mark the one-year anniversary of this disaster, focus has shifted from immediate crisis management to the long-term realities of recovery. The data reveals a complex picture of stalled rebuilding efforts, high investor activity, and a community still grappling with the true cost of the devastation.

The state of the destruction

To understand the status of L.A.’s recovery, start with the scope of the damage. Cotality data shows that of 21,132 single-family properties affected by the fires, 10,563 of these homes were designated as "destroyed" by California. This classification implies damage exceeding 50% of the structure.

While the smoke has long cleared, physical recovery is lagging. The vast majority of homeowners whose properties were destroyed remain on an unclear path forward. The sheer volume of total losses has created a bottleneck in resources, labor, and the permitting process. A similar situation played out in the Lahaina rebuilds, where the sluggish pace of construction markets struggled to keep up with the demand of simultaneous projects.

The permitting bottleneck: by the numbers

The pace of reconstruction has not kept up with the urgent need for housing. The data reveals a process that is moving down a funnel.  

According to the 2025 LA County Permitting Progress Dashboard as of December 15, 2025, officials have received 2,700 rebuild applications. While this represents a significant effort by residents to move forward, the approval pipeline is clogged.

Data shows that only 1,660 parcels have been cleared with full building plans received. More concerning is the number of projects that have actually broken ground. As of mid-December 2025, only 1,011 building permits had been issued.  

And finally, the reality of the rebuild is even starker when looking at completion rates. Currently, 455 new residential rebuilding projects are currently in construction, but only six new residential constructions have been completed. This means that one year after the fires, a negligible fraction of the destroyed homes is ready for re-occupancy.

For those attempting to rebuild or repair, the challenges have been financial and logistical. Beyond the obvious structural destruction, the region faced massive "hidden" costs. In the months following the fires, additional living expenses (ALE) for displaced policyholders were estimated to exceed $500 million per month.

Trends in resales and investor activity

One of the most telling indicators of the recovery status is real estate activity within the burn scars. Rather than rebuilding immediately, a distinct portion of homeowners have chosen to sell their lots.

According to Cotality analysis, 6.6% of the destroyed properties, or roughly 694 homes, have been resold in the past year. While this percentage may seem low, it is significantly higher than the resale rates for properties that suffered only minor damage (2.4%) or no damage at all (1.9%). This suggests that for many residents, the prospect of navigating the reconstruction process was less appealing than moving elsewhere.

The data further reveals who is buying these distressed properties. Among the destroyed homes that were resold, 45% were flagged as purchases by investors, defined as buyers owning three or more properties. However, this figure likely underrepresents the true scale of professional acquisition. When accounting for buyers using corporate structures such as LLCs to purchase vacant lots, the share of properties sold to investors or companies jumps to approximately 77%.

This trend indicates a shift in neighborhood composition. The recovery phase is being driven less by original residents returning to their family homes and more by developers and investors anticipating future value.

Building for resilience

The one-year mark serves as a critical checkpoint. The recovery of Los Angeles mirrors the difficulties faced by other wildfire-prone regions, yet it also offers an opportunity to rebuild with greater resilience.

Much of the devastation occurred in the wildland-urban interface (WUI), where human development meets combustible vegetation. As reconstruction permits are slowly approved, there is a pressing need to adopt fire-resistant building materials and enforce stricter defensible space zones.

The road to recovery for Los Angeles is far from over. With over 10,000 homes destroyed and less than 7% of those properties resold or moving through the market, thousands of families remain in a state of transition. As insurers, developers, and city officials work to clear the backlog, the focus must remain on data-driven decisions that prioritize not just the speed of the rebuild, but the long-term safety of the community.

Going forward, the focus must shift toward proactive solutions and long-term resilience. The next chapter requires sustained collaboration between policymakers, insurers, residents, and builders to not only accelerate the recovery but also rethink how and where we build. Future prevention depends on adopting smarter land-use planning, investing in fire-resistant infrastructure, and reinforcing community-level preparedness. Without these forward-looking measures, the cycle of destruction and delay will continue. The lessons of the past year must now inform decisive actions to protect lives, homes, and landscapes from the next inevitable wildfire.

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Cotality remains committed to monitoring the recovery progress and providing the essential data needed to navigate this complex landscape.