January 23rd, 2026

Reflections After Year One of Rebuilding in Los Angeles

Last January's Eaton and Palisades fires marked a turning point—not just for Los Angeles, but for how we approach wildfire recovery nationwide. The devastation forced an urgent question: How do we rebuild in ways that actually protect against future disasters?

Over the past year, as a program of The Resiliency Company, Resilient Los Angeles and partners across the community have worked hard to deliver an answer, establishing the infrastructure, partnerships, and programs needed to make climate-adapted rebuilding accessible and practical. We’ve also focused on educating the rebuilding ecosystem, from homeowners to contractors, on what it means to rebuild with resilience. We recently published our Wildfire Grants Guidebook, and with the launches of the Delta Fund and the PILLAR platform, our aim is to even the cost difference between rebuilding to code and rebuilding to a fire-safe standard.

Our work has been collaborative by necessity: Lasting change requires coordination across every part of the housing ecosystem. Lenders need to offer new products. Insurers need to reward safer building practices. Contractors need training in resilient building practices in order to meet growing demand. And homeowners need clear information and financial support to make fire-adapted choices for their properties.

To get as many people reading from the same page as possible, we've convened hundreds of stakeholders for in-person summits, including last April’s gathering at LA Climate Week and June's two-day Rebuilding LA with Resilience event. We've also seen inspiring momentum from partners like Greenline Housing Foundation, PostFire LA, The Foothill Catalog Foundation, and Case Study: Adapt, each addressing different pieces of the rebuilding puzzle in innovative ways.

In 2026, Resilient LA is launching a series of pilot programs and partnerships funded by the Delta Fund to connect homeowners with financing and construction guidance. We know the hardest work is still ahead. But the blueprint is taking shape, and with it, the possibility of a recovery model that other communities can follow.

Click here to learn more about our journey, the key players driving change, and what's next for resilient rebuilding in LA.

Updates from Resilient Los Angeles

Step-by-Step Guide to Launching a Post-Fire Grant Program

In 2025, we put together an implementation guidebook (available here) that outlines a pragmatic, evidence-based approach to closing the “Resiliency Delta”: the aforementioned gap between what traditional financing covers in rebuilding and what building safer, non-combustible homes costs. With a focus on grant programs, the guidebook aims to help more communities harden themselves against future wildfire risk. 

Fire-Safe Home Walkthrough

We recently added an interactive feature to our website to help homeowners understand what makes an LA home insurable and better protected. The walkthrough highlights:

• Fire-safe materials and features on the outside of the home—roofing, vents, and windows
  
  

• An overview of Zone Zero, the 5-foot buffer area immediately surrounding the home that should be kept clear of vegetation and flammable materials
  
  

• A tool for estimating the cost of making a specific property in LA County fire safe
  
  

• A submission form to get notified when funding becomes available through the PILLAR program 

Stay Tuned

• We’ll soon announce the community partners we’ve selected to receive grants from the Delta Fund as part of several pilot programs we’re running in 2026. These organizations work tirelessly on the ground to support survivors, and we’re thrilled they’ll be able to directly help homeowners build back with resilience.
  
  

• We’re partnering with Archicraft, an architectural studio based in West Hollywood, to develop a robust, yet easy-to-digest guide to rebuilding with resilience, which will become available in the coming months.
  
  

• We’re preparing for LA Convening 2026, an event designed to discuss funding, policy, and innovation strategies for a more resilient Los Angeles. Formal announcement coming soon.

Homeowner Resources

We’ve started publishing articles on our website that address the most common and important questions we hear about building safer, more insurable homes in Los Angeles. 

Below are eight articles we’ve published in the last month, written with homeowners, builders, and insurers in mind:

• What Does it Mean to Rebuild a Wildfire-Resilient Home?

• What is the IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home Plus Standard?

• Landscaping a Fire-Resilient Home

• How Three Vulnerable Areas Rebuilt with Resilience

• How Mortgage Lenders Can Support Resilient Rebuilding

• How to Finance Your Resilient Rebuild

• Rebuilding vs. Retrofitting to Resilient Standards

• Reflections After Year One of Rebuilding in Los Angeles

From the Front Lines of Resilience in the Last 30 Days

• Fundraising and charitable commitments for LA fires relief and wildfire efforts reached $860 to $970 million in 2025, according to the Milken Institute.
  
  

• Investors are purchasing 40% of the vacant lots within the Altadena and Pacific Palisades neighborhoods, per Real Estate News.
  
  

• Only 13% of wildfire-damaged homes have received permits for rebuilding, but permitting rates did increase in December.
  
  

• In partnership with Governor Gavin Newsom, LA Rises launched a new webpage intended to educate homeowners on their primary rebuilding options when it comes to builders, manufacturers, and vendors.

Start Your Fire-safe Rebuild Journey

Our PILLAR platform is designed to be a clear and easy-to-navigate path to an insurable home. We walk homeowners through their building choices, calculate how much a resilient rebuild would cost, and then connect them with grantmakers and lenders—all directly within the platform.

Sign up today to get notified as soon as funding becomes available.

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