After LA fires, struggles for the homes still standing

Summary

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Marketplace Morning Report

Episode: After LA fires, struggles for the homes still standing
Air Date: January 8, 2026
Host: David Brancaccio

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Episode Overview

In this episode, David Brancaccio reports from Pasadena, California, exploring the overlooked struggles of residents whose homes survived last year’s devastating urban firestorm. While much attention centers on homes that were lost, the stories here focus on the ten homeowners on a single block whose houses remained standing amidst the destruction of their neighbors’, but who now face complex, expensive, and emotionally exhausting efforts to make their homes safe again.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Challenges for Survivors: The "Standing Homes"

• Survival Amidst Destruction
  David recounts that on his block in Altadena, “15 houses burned up, but 10 are still there, potentially habitable, but not before knowing what and how to clean” (01:21-01:33).
• Survivors not only must remediate toxic contamination but also face protracted insurance battles and out-of-pocket costs.

2. Health and Safety Fears

• Ellen's Ordeal:
  Ellen, a public health project manager and the street’s block captain, describes the ongoing stress:

  "It feels like I have a second full time job that I'm not being paid for and I did not ask for and I don't have the background." — Ellen (01:33-01:45)

• She expresses concerns about toxic contamination:

  "I don't want to go home and worry that I'm going to end up with cancer or respiratory illness. But I ache in my heart to go home." — Ellen (02:22-02:29)

• Ellen has personally paid for testing, revealing disturbing results:

  "Asbestos, lead, beryllium, cyanide, lead, asbestos, cadmium... Chromium, manganese, lithium. I may be missing a heavy metal in there somewhere." — Ellen, prompted by David (02:37-03:02)

• Insurance companies, according to Ellen, often dismiss the need for such testing, assuming cleaning is sufficient:

  “The insurance people told her no testing was necessary before professional cleaning because the soot’s visible and you'll know if it's clean by eyeballing it.” — David Brancaccio (03:05-03:16)

3. The Unique Nature of Urban Fire Damage

• David and Ellen note that, unlike forest fires, these fires released a composition of toxins from everyday household objects, vehicles, and infrastructure.

• “This smoke contains a suburb with all of its stuff and its junk... All those contaminants... have become part of the smoke and gotten into the house.” — Ellen (03:18-03:32)

4. Age of Homes and Fire Survival

• Analysis of California wildfire data reveals:

  “The biggest predictor: the newer the house, the better its chances. My house was 99 years old.” — David Brancaccio (03:32-04:07)

5. Financial and Insurance Hurdles

• Terrica’s Story:
  Terrica, a county child support officer, describes spending her own savings for cleanup:

  “The house is still there. I paid out of pocket to have it clean and then I'll fight with the insurance company later to get back what I can.” — Terrica (04:13-04:22)
  “I got it out of savings and thank God I had it, but I do want to get it back.” — Terrica (04:25-04:33)

• She details the thorough post-fire remediation she paid for:

  "They removed the insulation, cleaned out the attic, replaced the insulation, ran machines in the house for maybe three, four days." — Terrica (04:39-04:48) “New couches, new carpets, new mattresses, new bedding.” (04:51-04:56)

• Terrica’s mother, also a survivor, must fight to reclaim promised insurance payouts due to the involvement of her mortgage lender:

  “We got the money, but it went to the mortgage company and then he's got to send in his information so we can get the money.” — Mary/Terrica’s mom (05:19-05:28)

6. Emotional Toll and Living in Limbo

• Rebecca and Chris’ Experience:
  As artists, they lack expertise for handling the insurance process. Their home remains untouched months after the fire:

  “It's exactly as the day we left it." — Rebecca (05:28-05:35)
  "If you were to pick it up [pizza plate], you would just see, you know, a circle of white inside and then soot all around it. It's a mess. It smells terrible. I know it's contaminated. I'm scared to go in without a mask." — Rebecca (05:42-06:00)

• Their insurance was canceled after a broker left the industry, resulting in even more uncertainty:

  “It's not clear the cancellation is legal, but it’s a living nightmare.” — David Brancaccio (06:00-06:20) “Now, it’s like a time capsule. … I just want to clean it and to just get past the insurance process. I want to get past that.” — Chris (06:20-06:36)

7. Broader Implications and Next Steps

• The episode previews further explorations into personal finance tips for survivors and rebuilding with fire resilience.
• David also notes President Trump is expected to push for restrictions on institutional investors buying single family homes, signaling possible federal intervention in housing affordability (06:36-07:30).

8. Market Update

• Quick rundown of market conditions:

  “Markets Dow S & P and NASDAQ futures are all down in the 2-3/10 of a percent range. The 10 year interest rate up 4.16%.” — David Brancaccio (07:30-07:37)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It feels like I have a second full time job that I'm not being paid for and I did not ask for…” — Ellen (01:33-01:45)
• “I don’t have a chemistry background… I ache in my heart to go home.” — Ellen (02:05-02:29)
• “I paid out of pocket to have it clean and then I’ll fight with the insurance company later to get back what I can.” — Terrica (04:13-04:22)
• “It’s exactly as the day we left it.” — Rebecca (05:31-05:35)
• “I just want to clean it and to just get past the insurance process. I want to get past that.” — Chris (06:33-06:36)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:31 — David Brancaccio introduces the Altadena block and the struggle of survivors
• 01:33 — Ellen’s “second full time job” begins
• 02:22 — Fear for health and longing for home
• 03:05 — Insurance company dismisses need for testing
• 04:13 — Terrica’s story of remediation and insurance fight
• 05:28 — Rebecca and Chris’s snapshot of suspended life
• 06:00 — Insurance nightmare and inability to move forward
• 06:36 onwards — Broader context: personal finance tips, rebuilding, and policy developments
• 07:30 — Market updates and episode sign-off

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Tone and Language

The episode maintains a mixture of personal, empathetic storytelling and clear-eyed economic reportage, augmented by firsthand accounts. Residents’ voices swing between exhaustion, frustration, and determination, capturing the ongoing toll of disaster recovery even for those whose homes “survived.”

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This summary covers the episode’s full exploration of the complexities faced by so-called “lucky” survivors—a nuanced counterpoint to the more visible devastation of total home loss.

Transcript

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[Terrica]

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[David Brancaccio]

The night and day mare for some people whose houses did not burn to the ground in California a year ago. I'm David Brancaccio in Pasadena, California. One year after the urban firestorms here, we're focusing on a single block in Altadena. I lost my house on that street. But some days I worry it's even more complicated for my neighbors who had houses that remained standing in the smoke and soot.

[Anderson Cooper]

But literally, I mean, these embers are like snowflakes. They're falling all around us.

[David Brancaccio]

I can barely face this. So I'll let CNN's Anderson Cooper do the narration.

[Anderson Cooper]

Inside that smoke is another house.

[David Brancaccio]

When I first saw this in real time a year ago, I could make out in the chaos that Anderson was a half block from our place.

[Anderson Cooper]

It is sandwiched between two houses completely ablaze. There's no way that house is going to survive.

[David Brancaccio]

But some did survive. On my single block, 15 houses burned up, but 10 are still there, potentially habitable, but not before knowing what and how to clean.

[Ellen]

It feels like I have a second full time job that I'm not being paid for and I did not ask for and I don't have the background. You know me with a standing home.

[David Brancaccio]

And that's saying something because this neighbor's day job is a manager of a public health project. Ellen is also our energetic block captain, sharing info, bringing us together to eat and to commiserate. Some neighbors asked for first names only here so they could speak more freely. With insurance and other financial matters in.

[Ellen]

Flux, the things that I need to understand are, you know, around toxic contaminations and remediation and restoration. And I don't have a chemistry background.

[David Brancaccio]

Reading scientific papers, attending webinar after webinar.

[Ellen]

I don't want to go home and worry that I'm going to end up with cancer or respiratory illness. But I ache in my heart to go home.

[David Brancaccio]

When we caught up in late fall, she was waiting for results from an industrial hygienist.

[Ellen]

We know what we have tested positive for, which includes, oh my gosh, I couldn't even tell you all the things. Asbestos, lead, beryllium, cyanide, lead, asbestos, cadmium.

[David Brancaccio]

Ellen's husband, Eric, is a senior engineer for NASA. Chromium, manganese, lithium. I may be missing a heavy metal in there somewhere. But who's paid for the testing that you've done so far?

[Ellen]

Oh, we have. We've paid out of pocket, our insurance company.

[David Brancaccio]

She says the insurance people told her no testing was necessary before professional cleaning because the soot's visible and you'll know if it's clean by eyeballing it.

[Ellen]

The problem with that argument is that.

[David Brancaccio]

This smoke wasn't from natural trees and brush. This smoke contains a suburb with all of its stuff and its junk and.

[Ellen]

All those contaminants inside of them have become part of the smoke and gotten into the house.

[David Brancaccio]

More in a moment. An analysis of six years of wildfires in California prior to this disaster looked at which houses tend to survive and which don't. The biggest predictor the newer the house, the better its chances. My house was 99 years old.

[Terrica]

I am back in Terrica's house across.

[David Brancaccio]

The street was built a year and a half before the fires.

[Terrica]

The house is still there. I paid out of pocket to have it clean and then I'll fight with the insurance company later to get back what I can.

[David Brancaccio]

What'd you do? Did you borrow or what'd you do?

[Terrica]

I got it out of savings and thank God I had it, but I do want to get it back.

[David Brancaccio]

Some of that money went to a business model in major demand around here post fire remediation.

[Terrica]

They removed the insulation, cleaned out the attic, replaced the insulation, ran machines in the house for maybe three, four days.

[David Brancaccio]

What about fabrics and clothes? You have to throw it out.

[Terrica]

New couches, new carpets, new mattresses, new bedding.

[David Brancaccio]

So Terrica, a child support officer for LA county, got back in August, seven months after the fire. Terrica's retired mom, Mary, lives with her husband Nate next door in a separate house that also made it through standing. The mom also ponied up the cash for decontamination. Some insurance money was promised, but since she had a loan, the bank controls the payout.

[Narrator/Announcer]

We got the money, but it went to the mortgage company and then he's got to send in his information so we can get the money.

[Rebecca]

It's exactly as the day we left it.

[David Brancaccio]

Rebecca and Chris have a standing house facing Terrica.

[Rebecca]

We were about to have some pizza that night before we left and we left our plates and I have a.

[David Brancaccio]

Even the hot honey still there.

[Rebecca]

If you were to pick it up, you would just see, you know, a circle of white inside and then soot all around it. It's a mess. It smells terrible. I know it's contaminated. I'm scared to go in without a mask.

[David Brancaccio]

Rebecca and Chris are both writers and actors without the background to deal with an insurance company that Chris says has canceled their fire coverage. The reason given because a middleman, his insurance broker, quit the business. It's not clear the cancellation is legal, but it's a living nightmare. His hopes for this new year right.

[Chris]

Now, it's like a time capsule. It's like the same glass of water that was when we left. The house is still on the, on the counter and I just want to clean it and to just get past the insurance process. I want to get past that.

[David Brancaccio]

All of our stories, including a nurse with a crucial personal finance tip as she deals with a standing house and a total loss house at the same time. Also tomorrow, rebuilding with sustainability and fire resilience in mind. My burned Street. All the pieces will be streamable from marketplace.org and in a bid to address the high cost of living, affordability is the word of the moment. President Trump says he wants to block institutional investors from buying up single family homes. Politico is also reporting an executive order is in the works. This could have bipartisan support depending on how it's crafted. Expect more during Trump's appearance set for the World Economic Forum in Switzerland later this month. Markets Dow S and P and NASDAQ futures are all down in the 2-3/10 of a percent range. The 10 year interest rate up 4.16%. In Pasadena, California, I'm David Brancaccio. It's the Marketplace Morning Report. You're from apm, American Public Media.

[Kyle Rysdal]

Hey, everybody, it's Kyle Rysdal, the host of Marketplace. It has been a year since the fires here in Los Angeles and businesses that burned are still struggling.

[Anderson Cooper]

You know, I won't lie. I've looked, I've looked at, you know, hey, maybe, maybe we moved the store. It wouldn't be the same hardware store.

[Kyle Rysdal]

On the ground reporting and what the year ahead has in store for business owners still recovering. Listen to Marketplace on your favorite podcast.

[David Brancaccio]

Applause.