Eighteen months after the Eaton and Palisades fires destroyed 16,000 structures across Los Angeles County, only about 1% of the homes have been rebuilt, according to the County Permitting Dashboard. Survivors continue to face significant displacement and housing shortages while public scrutiny intensifies over high overtime pay for fire department officials.
Status of the rebuilding effort
The pace of reconstruction remains slow following the fires, which burned 37,000 acres. Data from the County Permitting Dashboard indicates that of the 6,746 destroyed residential units, only 101 homes have been fully rebuilt as of early 2026. The first home in the Eaton Fire area received its certificate of occupancy in December 2025. In the unincorporated area impacted by the Palisades Fire, only one home has been rebuilt to date.
Ongoing displacement and housing challenges
Community recovery is moving slowly, according to surveys conducted by the Eaton Fire Collaborative and the Department of Angels. From September 2025 to April 2026, the displacement rate for Eaton survivors dropped by only 3%, leaving 64% of those residents still displaced. Palisades survivors have seen a larger reduction from their initial 75% displacement rate, though a significant portion of the population remains without permanent housing. County records show that out of more than 150 applications for temporary housing from Eaton survivors, only 13 units have been provided. Residents living near the burn zones also report lingering health and environmental concerns.
Public spending and department staffing
As residents struggle with insurance delays and financial instability, questions have emerged regarding Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) payroll. Records from the City Controller’s office show that LAFD Battalion Chief Nicholas Ferrari earned nearly $1 million in 2025, primarily through overtime pay. Data from Transparent California reveals a broader trend where LAFD captains and chiefs regularly doubled their base salaries through overtime during the year of the fires. Fire Inspector Antonio Jones earned two and a half times his regular salary in overtime pay, according to the same records.
The LAFD maintains that these high earnings result from “operational necessity” rather than discretionary choices. The department states that this spending is the “direct cost of operating a Department this understaffed.”
What happens next
The future of LAFD resources may be determined at the ballot box this November. City voters are scheduled to decide on a proposed half-percent sales tax increase. If passed, the revenue is intended to fund new fire stations and additional staffing for the department. For survivors, the continued slow rate of permitting suggests that large-scale reconstruction may remain a long-term challenge, as displacement rates have shown little improvement over the last seven months.
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