Home » They live in L.A. County’s riskiest areas. Should they rebuild on their burned out lots? – Jobsmaa.com

They live in L.A. County’s riskiest areas. Should they rebuild on their burned out lots? – Jobsmaa.com

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They were drawn to the Altadena foothills for hummingbirds and bats and peacocks. It was a view of the valley, downtown skyscrapers and Santa Catalina Island, somehow in one frame.

Everyone on Leilani Way knows the dangers of living in the fire-prone foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. The benefits outweighed them.

“The ability to be close to wilderness is not a terrible threat,” said Eric Kenou, who treasures his daily dog-walks. “It's part of what we all wanted.”

But residents say last week served as a brutal reminder of the stakes as they watched flames leap from the hillside and leave the oak-dotted refuge looking like a moonscape. Kenoyu's house is gone. So are his neighbors.

As thousands of homeowners weigh rebuilding, residents on the tight street are forced to face an even more complicated question — whether they should not only rebuild, but do so in a combustible space.

“We're obviously torn apart. … Part of you wants to do it right away. Part of you is hesitant to even think about rebuilding in the same place,” Kenoyu said. “Should we build on these sites?

For years, LA County officials have tried to stop people from doing just that. A month before the fire broke out in Altadena, the planning firm won In the column A regional update has been around for years. It banned more housing in unincorporated areas of the western San Gabriel Valley, which the state “Very high fire risk severity zone.”

That includes the foothills of Altadena, where at least two people died in the Eaton fire, according to addresses provided. Coroner.

A hiker in the San Gabriel Mountains.

Residents on Leilani Way said they like the foothills' easy access to the San Gabriel Mountains.

(Gabriella Angotti-Jones/Los Angeles Times)

Amy Bodek, who heads the county's planning department, said the plan would have no effect on homeowners who want to rebuild their homes — rather than add additional housing — to vulnerable areas.

“We absolutely support the rights of individuals to rebuild and are here to do everything we can to help them,” he said.

At the same time, the county has taken a clear stance: It doesn't want more people living in the foothills.

“It's a fair conundrum,” Bodek said.

It's one the county will struggle with for the foreseeable future: How to balance the need to rebuild quickly while preventing housing in areas that are prone to re-ignition?

“The fire crisis in California is inseparable from the housing crisis,” said Robert Olshansky. Expert Post-disaster planning and relocation. “There aren't a lot of attractive options for where else they can go.”

Houses are smoldering as an apartment building burns in the background during the Eaton fire

The Eaton Fire is believed to have destroyed more than 7,000 structures, including many homes located in the foothills of Altadena.

(Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Kenoyu, An Architectural historianHe believes there is a way to intelligently reproduce. Sealed windows, hardscape and fire-resistant vents and siding are all high on his wish list.

His neighbors expect the same. They don't know if insurance coverage will be enough to make those improvements a reality.

“Being in California and doing it right can be very expensive,” said Taylor John, a content designer who built his own home. “Our payments aren't going to cover that, so I don't know what we're going to do.”

Leilani Way was a sanctuary for its residents, a dead-end offshoot of Chaney Trail so unique that Uber drivers could never find it. It is now defaced beyond recognition.

John's house, he says, is the product of four years of labor, where he knows every stud well. reduced to ruinsBy mid-century the vaulted ceiling was gone and the metal roof crumbled to the ground. Most of his neighbors are piles of ash and twisted metal.

Owned by Michael Pke, one of the few remaining fleshy houses from 1949. He suspects it was a combination of good luck and renovations he had done to his house during that moment. 2009 station fire.

PK, an astrophysicist and leader Conservation group AltadenaWILDMost people don't think there's any point in the foothills where fires spread. The fire that destroyed his street, he says, made it “plenty” clear.

He says it's unrealistic to tell a homeowner they shouldn't rebuild. He didn't even know what he would do if his house collapsed.

“I don't think the community is ready to ban development in these areas,” he said. “All we can do is stop new developments from happening.”

It's not as if embers are strictly adhered to in the state's map, PK said. He noted that few of the 2,200 houses in the hazardous area have survived. And not many houses outside the zone.

Firefighters walk near the remains of a house destroyed by the Eaton fire

The Eaton Fire spread beyond the forest into urban areas, damaging beloved businesses and homes in downtown Altadena.

(Jason Armand/Los Angeles Times)

LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barker, who represents the unincorporated city, is adamant that all of Altadena should come back. At a board meeting this week, he cut off the county assessor as he discussed property taxes for residents “if you rebuild.”

“While they're rebuilding,” she interjected. “I'll tell you when.”

Karen Chapple, an urban planner Expert At UC Berkeley, it's usually a post-disaster message.

“Politically, you never say 'go away,'” he said. “The politics of it are terrible.”

But a deeper conversation needs to happen at the state level, he said, as residents rush to rebuild and, in some cases, “literally add fuel to the next fire.”

“From a policy perspective, or from a California taxpayer perspective, should we be subsidizing people to go to these places where we have to bail them out again?” she said. “It's a real question that I think the good residents of California have to face.”

Supervisor Kathryn Barker Eaton inspects the fire damage

Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barker surveyed the Eaton Fire damage to neighborhoods in her county. She was determined that residents should rebuild.

(Alan J. Shaben/Los Angeles Times)

Since the Woolsey Fire blackened tens of thousands of acres north of Malibu in 2018, some conservationists say L.A. County has emerged as a leader in planning for a fire-tough future, something the region is famous for.

Dan Silver, President Endangered Habitats CorporationHe said the county is finding state-mandated housing to be built away from the mountains, where it would be more difficult for residents to “spread, spread and jump into dangerous places.”

“It's really a planning feat,” Silver said, noting the recent crackdown on subdivisions in fire-prone areas. “LA County is really the model right now.

“There's a lot to denigrate, of course — land use over the last 100 years.” But the district, he said, “put their money where their mouth is.”

One area Bothek says the county hasn't been able to have much effect on: the locations of accessory dwelling units, or ADUs.

Bodek says the county tried to ban all ADUs in hazardous areas because “adding additional population to fire zones is not what the county is interested in doing.” He said it was a scam by the government.

The state said its fire designations “are not intended to limit housing development” and that high-risk zoning “is not a compelling reason to warrant limiting ADUs.” State guidelines. David Zisser of the state Department of Housing and Community Development said in a statement that ADUs may be restricted in these areas under certain circumstances.

“I started saying no,” Bodek said of the blanket ban. “The government said, 'No, you can't do that'.”

Grace Lee-Bloch and her husband, Justin, have an ADU behind their home on Leilani Way. It is now gone from her house too. That's all remains Wrought iron front doors.

Lee-Bloch, a teacher, said she worries people will read about her community and compare it to homeowners who foreclose on beachfront property.

But the natural beauty of Leilani Way — a street with so many hummingbirds that he had to buy large feeders — was simply worth the risk. If she could afford it, rebuilding was out of the question.

“We're very committed to making something like this a livable property,” he said. “We want our little community back.”

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