As film and television production revives in Los Angeles, entertainment executives are grappling with a new worry: how devastating wildfires will add to the already high costs of filming in Southern California.
As a result, 30 film and television productions were briefly shut down The Palisades and Eden FireAccording to industry estimates.
Although none of the major studio campuses were threatened, Poor air quality from smoke It forced executives to halt production for several days, including with thousands of workers were evicted from their homesFrom exposure.
Although not enough to change the calculus for filming in Los Angeles, the fires could increase ancillary costs, entertainment executives said. Still, executives and experts say studios and producers will face costs for distribution, licensing and insurance at a time when producers are already struggling to manage costs to keep production in Los Angeles.
“We're talking about rebuilding the Palisades and Altadena, and that will take building materials — wood, drywall and all the things we use to build sets in the screen industry,” former Teamsters union president Steve Dayan told the Times. “It's going to be very expensive to buy those things.”
A forest fire The latest disruption For an already faltering film industry. As the industry tried to recover from five years of setbacks, communities near entertainment centers leveled off. Organizational downsizing. Many expected that It's red carpet awards seasonThis is Creates hundreds of industry-specific jobsLast year's pandemic marked a return to normalcy after threats of strikes and additional layoffs by writers and actors. But even those festivities have been curtailed.
“We are There was covidThen the strikes were a major work disruption, and now this devastating fire,” Dayan said. “It's all coming together Summary in business. All these factors combined to create a disaster.
Executives interviewed said it was too early to gauge that Full impact forest fire have received About film production.
Hundreds of recreational workers They lost their homesA contribution Housing shortage In a region already notorious for its sky-high costs. The fires will prompt some entertainment workers to move to lower-cost states, experts said.
“The biggest single structural advantage of filming in L.A. has always been the people who live here,” said Kevin Gloden, executive director of finance at the Milken Institute.
“Insurance costs are going up, housing costs are going up,” Gloden said. “Can people stay in LA?”

The studios have been beset by problems, including a protest by video game actors who picketed outside Warner Bros. studios in Burbank last August.
(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Migration of Filmmaking Already underway.
Studio heads They are moving production to areas where labor is cheaper, including New Mexico and Central Europe. Many states offer generous tax incentives that attract filmmakers.
LA's filmmaking community was A restless year is coming. 2024 marked the second-lowest production in Los Angeles, outperforming 2020, a year of pandemic-related shutdowns, according to nonprofit FilmLA.
“Los Angeles already had problems keeping manufacturing in Southern California. This [disaster] Definitely not helpful,” said Brian M. said Kingman, managing director of entertainment practice at insurance broker and risk management firm Gallagher.
The resulting crisis Palisades And the Eaton fire could increase the urgency for state officials to expand California's film tax incentive program. Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed the stimulus $750 million from the current $330 million.
“Increasing production in the state where the majority of our members reside is now more imperative than ever,” the Television Academy said in a statement Friday.

Jan. A firefighting helicopter drops water on the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades on July 7, 2025.
(Brian van der Broek/Los Angeles Times)
In addition to high housing costs for film workers, securing timber and providing the basics of film production, such as film permits, can be more challenging, executives said.
“Whether it's the city of Los Angeles, Pasadena, Santa Monica or Malibu, they all have their own permit guidelines,” Dayan said. “So what kind of additional restrictions might be added?”
Some worry that premiums for insurance plans could increase for filmmakers to cover losses and unexpected interruptions, especially for productions near wilderness areas like Acton and Santa Clarita.
Insurance executives, however, downplayed the possibility of a rate hike.
“These fires, while they had an impact, weren't serious enough to create a shift in the market,” Gallagher's Kingman said.
“Post-epidemic rates are increasing,” Kingman said, “because of the huge losses [insurance] The market was hit in the entertainment industry, with extended shutdowns for Hollywood and Broadway productions and the payment of claims for canceled live events.
Recent efforts by filmmakers to expand their insurance coverage will stall in the short term, he said. At least until the losses are ascertained from all the claims made to the insurance companies Various arms of their business.
“The big question is what it does The entire insurance industry?,” said Kingman. “That's too complicated.”
At least 27 people died as a result of the fire that broke out on January 7. The Palisades Fire has burned more than 23,000 acres and destroyed at least 6,300 structures. The Eaton Fire in Altadena has burned 14,000 acres and destroyed more than 9,400 structures, according to California Fire.
The entertainment industry has a lot of unknowns, Kingman and other experts say.
One thing is certain, however, Dayan said: Those at the bottom of the economic ladder will suffer the most.
“It's very sad because the crew are the ones who suffer the most,” Dayan said. “It's the crew that works—the catering assistants, [production assistants] And all the different crafts. And these are the people [were sidelined] Work stoppages and Career Summary.”