Rebuilding L.A.

LA Times Studios
  • 4.2 (27)
  • NEWS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

What’s next for L.A. in the wake of its recent wildfires? In “Rebuilding Los Angeles,” broadcast journalist Kate Cagle examines the systems that failed us, the path forward and the innovative fire recovery efforts making L.A. more resilient. You’ll also hear inspiring stories from real Angelenos working to restore their lives and rise from the ashes. “Rebuilding Los Angeles” is more than an essential resource for California — it’s a cautionary tale for everyone affected by climate change.

  1. JAN 14

    Through Her Doc ‘All The Walls Came Down,’ Filmmaker Ondi Timoner Aims To ‘Save’ Altadena, And Help Her Community — And Herself — Heal

    NOTE: We taped this episode on January 8th, 2026, exactly one year after much of Altadena awoke to the news that their homes and their neighborhoods had burned, and their lives were forever changed.  Filmmaker Ondi Timoner was overseas shooting a documentary when the Eaton Fire destroyed her home of 14 years, and wiped her entire neighborhood away. She learned about the fate of her house from her neighbor Randy Vance via a text. As soon as she came back, she picked up her camera and began to tell the story of what happened last January, highlighting the displacement of friends and neighbors, the endless financial challenges, and the daily heartache — and small joys — of trying to move forward. Ondi joined forces with fellow Altadenean, Heavenly Hughes, and the non profit My Tribe Rise to help their neighbors with immediate, temporary housing needs, fight foreclosures, and, hopefully, help people come back to Altadena and rebuild the homes they lost to the flames. Her short documentary, All The Walls Came Down, was completed in months and has been distributed in partnership with L.A. Times Studios as part of the L.A. Times Short Docs program. It’s been shortlisted for an Oscar nomination. Guest: Ondi Timoner, filmmaker, All The Walls Came Down  Link to the film: https://www.latimes.com/shortdocs Ondi's Production Company, Interloper Films: https://www.interloperfilms.com/ My Tribe Rise/ Adopt A Survivor Program: https://mytriberise.org/home Ondi’s Change.org petition to freeze foreclosures and force So Cal Edison to release emergency funds to fire survivors to help with costs: https://www.change.org/p/freeze-foreclosures-and-release-emergency-funds-keep-altadena-families-on-their-land November 2025 update regarding conversations with Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger as well Judy Chu, the congresswoman representing the 28th District that includes Altadena: https://www.change.org/p/freeze-foreclosures-and-release-emergency-funds-keep-altadena-families-on-their-land/u/34066783 (edited)

    58 min

  2. JAN 7

    They’ve Never Met But These Fire Survivors Connect Over Loss, Demands for 'Accountability', And A Strong Desire To Get Back Home.

    It’s been a year since two fires tore through Los Angeles County, killing 31 people and destroying 16,000 structures, and the disaster is still unfolding as thousands of people continue pick up the pieces, find new places to live, new jobs, new neighborhoods, and wrestle with whether to return to their old streets, which were burned beyond recognition.   It’s clear that we are still in the very early days of this recovery and there is a long way to go. There’s been some progress but, if you ask them how it’s going, survivors will tell you that not a lot has happened and there are plenty of roadblocks in their path. Many want to rebuild and move back home but still aren’t sure if they can afford it, or what else will be there if they do.   In this episode, taped Monday January 5, host Kate Cagle talks with three people — each from the three areas hit hardest by the fire: Altadena, the Pacific Palisades, and Malibu — and learns more about the challenges most people are still facing.   Guests:   Dana Brumfield, Altadena Resident, Business Manager, Pasadena Rosebud Academy Wade Major, Malibu Resident, Film Critic, Public Works Commissioner Nancy Fracchiolla, Pacific Palisades Resident, Actress, Retired Drama Teacher, Palisades High   Other voices in this episode: Palisades resident Tamara Rawitt and Altadena residents Zaire Calvin and Joe Ressa   Links:   LAFD leaders tried to cover up Palisades fire mistakes. The truth still emerged: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-12-31/lafd-leaders-tried-to-cover-up-palisades-fire-mistakes-truth-still-emerged

    1h 23m

  3. 12/17/2025

    Case Study Houses For the 21st Century, After The Fires

    Thousands of homes need to be built in Malibu, the Pacific Palisades and Altadena over the next decade. With many homeowners still looking for architects and blueprints, there is an opportunity to rethink the modern home.Dustin Bramell is one Palisades Fire who is drawing a parallel to eighty years ago and the Case Study Houses that rose up during the post-World War II building boom.The Case Study movement called for inexpensive and efficient model homes - a kind of blueprint - for a stylish and modern America. Many of those homes are still standing today in Southern California, including the Eames Home, which narrowly escaped the Palisades Fires, and the iconic Stahl House in the Hollywood Hills.The new effort is called “Case Study: Adapt,” and its objective to is to build with the risks of climate change and fire in mind. Guests: Dustin Bramell, co-founder, Case Study: Adapt Kathleen Katims, Palisades Resident and co-founder of Saved By A Story Check out the CSA designs here:See How 16 Families are Rebuilding After the LA Fires: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/see-how-16-families-are-rebuilding-after-the-la-fires A display of student-constructed CSA home models at the USC school of architecture: https://www.instagram.com/p/DRF82C2Eiu1/ **This exhibit will soon move to the Eames House in 2026.More info on Kathy Katims organization, Saved By A Story: https://www.savedbyastory.com/about

    55 min

  4. 12/10/2025

    Edison’s CEO Pitches His Plan For Eaton Fire Survivors: ‘I Want To Be Able To …Look A Neighbor In The Eye’

    The official investigation into the cause of the Eaton Fire is not over, but power company So-Cal Edison has already said that it likely sparked from their equipment.Edison is facing dozens of lawsuits from survivors, and one from the U-S Department of Justice, accusing the company of not only starting the fire, but also of negligence.Edison says it wants to make things right and has come up with a Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program for survivors. Eligibility is fairly expansive but many survivors say it does not go far enough, especially those who are also struggling with insurance payouts.CEO of Edison International Pedro Pizarro, who lives in the area affected by the Eaton Fire, says he “want to be able to walk into the grocery store and look his neighbors in the eye” so he stopped by in early November to give host Kate Cagle his pitch for the program. Guest: Pedro Pizarro, CEO, Edison International Dana Brumfield, Altadena Resident Clarification: Dana Brumfield, our guest profiled at the top of the episode, does not endorse Edison’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program at this time. The inclusion of her story is coincidental and not connected to the program currently being offered by So Cal Edison and Edison International.In addition, per her lawyer, the standard rate charged by attorneys representing wildfire survivors is 25 percent. The following interview implies the legal fees could reach as high as 40 percent. Edison International’s Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program: https://energized.edison.com/wildfire-recovery-compensation-program Edison increases compensation for Eaton fire victims, but some say it’s not enough: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-10-30/edison-increases-compensation-for-eaton-fire-victims-but-some-say-its-not-enough

    1h 8m

  5. 12/03/2025

    Developer Rick Caruso On His Role In LA’s Rebuild And Whether He’ll Run For Office

    Rick Caruso is a real-estate developer, a philanthropist, and in some ways a city insider — he ran for mayor against Karen Bass in 2022, and lost. He is also a Palisades Fire survivor. His family lost three homes that night — and were it not for the private firefighters he hired, Caruso’s businesses in the Palisades Village might have also burned down. He started the nonprofit Steadfast LA to assist with the rebuilding of neighborhoods in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena, and Malibu, and has not been shy with his criticism of how local governments, particularly L.A. city Mayor Karen Bass, has handled the response to January’s deadly and destructive fires.He talks about all of it with host Kate Cagle. Guests: Rick Caruso, L.A. businessman, founder, Steadfast LA David Goldblum, filmmaker and Malibu resident Related articles:AI is coming soon to speed up sluggish permitting for fire rebuilds, officials say: https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2025-05-14/l-a-wildfire-survivors-complain-that-rebuilding-is-too-slow-can-ai-helpCaruso-backed nonprofit partners with builder to give prefab homes to fire victims: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-02-20/caruso-backed-nonprofit-partners-with-builder-to-give-prefab-homes-to-fire-victimsDays before Palisades inferno, firefighters were ordered to leave smoldering burn site: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-10-30/firefighters-ordered-to-leave-smoldering-palisades-burn-siteMore on David Blum’s film @bigrockburning on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigrockburning/?hl=en

    1h 5m

  6. 11/26/2025

    THANKSGIVING BONUS: The Foothill Catalog: An Old Idea To Create New Homes For Altadena After The Eaton Fire

    Just before Thanksgiving, Altadena resident Whitney Haggins — who is VERY big on holidays — told us she hopes to break ground on her new home in the new year using a design she chose out of The Foothill Catalog, which has already been pre-approved by Los Angeles County. It’s got a porch and everything — perfect for watching the sun set and chatting with her neighbors, many of whom are also choosing to rebuild. It’s pretty much a win all around and a positive note to wrap up what’s been a pretty horrible year for many in our region.Given her story, we thought we’d re-air our conversation with Alex Athenson, the co-founder of The Foothill Catalog Foundation. We originally ran this interview back in July just after Foothill got its first design — the one Whitney went with — approved by the county. Guests: Whitney Haggins, Altadena Resident Alex Athenson, president and co-founder, The Foothill Catalog Foundation. Links:The Foothill Catalog Foundation Website: https://www.foothillcatalog.org/ The Lewis: https://www.foothillcatalog.org/the-lewis The Altadena Christmas Tree Lane tree lighting on Dec 6: https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2025-09-10/eaton-fire-displaced-christmas-tree-lane-volunteers-altadena-holiday-event#:~:text=again%20this%20year.-,California,that%20destroyed%20many%20other%20structures.

    40 min

  7. 11/19/2025

    L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger Speaks To Altadena’s Recovery

    Editor’s Note: This interview taped a few days before the government announced it would reopen after a shutdown that lasted 44 days. We opted to keep the references to the shutdown in the interview to illustrate its impact on the rebuilding process. Talk to anyone in Altadena and they’ll tell you they loved living there before the fires. It was their paradise, their Shangri-La, their little slice of heaven. It’s been repeatedly described as a  diverse place where people from all sorts of different backgrounds found a home. But it remains to be seen how much of that can come back. Ten months after the January fire, about two-thousand rebuilding applications have been submitted to L.A. County and, of those, a little more than a quarter of them have been approved. At the time of this recording, about 250 homes were in active construction.A big problem in Altadena?  Building a brand new house is going to cost a lot more money than what insurance will cover.Guest: Kathryn Barger, Los Angeles County Supervisor, 5th DistrictAltadena Recovery Info: https://recovery.lacounty.gov/altadena/ Permit Fee Waiver / Refund Request: https://planning.lacounty.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Permit-Fee-Waiver-Refund-Form_fillable.pdf Tune in to Altadena Community Meetings on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLblXY1FEJmYjEQc2Z0u_8cP2RZp_foSF7

    59 min

  8. 11/12/2025

    Checking In On Pacific Palisades With Councilmember Traci Park

    There are no shortcuts for rebuilding the Pacific Palisades. Even those who are returning are daunted by the task, wondering who else will come back, and nervous about the hidden dangers of the toxic debris produced by the fire.Homes are starting to go up, and there is a plan for at least some of those third spaces – the elementary schools, the high school, and the community center.But affordability is still a big hurdle that will determine whether people can return, and there are still a lot of questions about how to make the community safer when the next disaster strikes.There is also a lot of anger about why any of this was allowed to happen in the first place — most of it is directed at  L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. By contrast, the Palisades’ elected city councilmember Traci Park is seen by many residents as a champion. She joins Kate to talk about what’s next for the area. Guest: Traci Park, L.A. City Councilmember, 11th District. Pacific Palisades Vision Plan: https://cd11.lacity.gov/news/pacific-palisades-rebuild-vision

    58 min
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Trailer

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About

What’s next for L.A. in the wake of its recent wildfires? In “Rebuilding Los Angeles,” broadcast journalist Kate Cagle examines the systems that failed us, the path forward and the innovative fire recovery efforts making L.A. more resilient. You’ll also hear inspiring stories from real Angelenos working to restore their lives and rise from the ashes. “Rebuilding Los Angeles” is more than an essential resource for California — it’s a cautionary tale for everyone affected by climate change.

Information

  • Creator
    LA Times Studios
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    30
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    Rebuilding L.A.

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