Executive Summary 

This data brief is the first in a series that will examine racial equity in post-disaster housing recovery in Altadena, California. Both the Palisades and Eaton Fires devastated Los Angeles County in January 2025. We focus on Altadena, where the Eaton Fire caused the greatest damage to single-family homes, as a case study of disaster recovery and racial equity.

We analyzed property sales, permitting records, and rebuilding activity from February to August, 2025 to examine the progress made in wildfire recovery with a focus on whether racial disparities are emerging in who can rebuild and who is leaving the area altogether. We found that as of August 2025, a large majority of single-family homeowners whose homes sustained severe fire damage had not begun the recovery process, indicating considerable barriers to rebuilding. On the other hand, only a few homeowners have chosen to leave the community, and a small share have applied for construction permits. Simultaneously, early signs show some worrying patterns: Black homeowners were the most likely to see their homes severely damaged; most families with destroyed homes haven’t yet been able to take any steps toward recovery; and investors already make up most of the buyers of fire-damaged properties. These trends raise a bigger question for Altadena’s future: will long-time Black, Latino, and Asian homeowners be able to rebuild and stay, or will financial barriers and investor activity widen existing gaps in wealth and housing?

Key Findings:

1. Black homeowners in Altadena face the steepest hurdles to rebuilding after the Eaton Fire. Nearly six in 10 Black-owned homes sustained severe fire damage, a higher rate than white-, Latino-, or Asian-owned homes.

2. Fewer than one in ten homeowners in Altadena whose homes were severely damaged in the Eaton Fire had sold or listed their home as of August 31, 2025, with no significant differences observed among racial and ethnic groups.

3. Investors have purchased two-thirds of the single-family homes sold with severe fire damage. Most of these homes were previously owned by white households, with relatively few sales from Black, Latino, or Asian homeowners.

4. About one in four owners of severely fire-damaged Altadena homes have filed permit applications to rebuild in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire, with notable racial and ethnic differences in the types of permits being pursued. Black homeowners were most likely to apply for like-for-like permits (73%), while Latino homeowners stood out for temporary housing permit applications (11%).

5. Over half of rebuilding permit applications advanced through planning entitlements, but many remain on hold. Approximately 54 percent of permit applications have been cleared by the planning department, and an additional 28 percent are currently on hold.

6. Seven in ten homeowners with severely fire-damaged Altadena homes remain in a holding pattern, having taken no observable action in recovery. This trend is consistent across all racial and ethnic groups, though Black (73 percent) and Asian (71 percent) homeowners are more likely than others to have taken no action.