This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.
Almost two years since the Eaton and Palisades fires in Los Angeles County, many fire survivors are still displaced, running out of money and waiting for long-term federal disaster aid that may not come.
If survivors have received insurance payouts, they may have depleted that money for temporary housing. Some survivors received Federal Emergency Management Agency funding for housing, too. For renters, that aid ran out on Oct. 9. Any future federal aid is up in the air — and could depend on what happens in the midterm elections.
“I’ve never been at a point in my life where I don’t know what to do, where to go, who to turn to,” said Kate Adams, who received money from FEMA toward rent for an apartment in Duarte after the Eaton Fire damaged the Altadena apartment she and her daughters had lived in for 10 years.
Adams, a real estate agent, also got some money from a local nonprofit and a California Association of Realtors grant. But even with those contributions, the cost of rent and replacing damaged belongings has exhausted Adams’ savings. She and her daughters are running out of options because there’s no more aid coming in.
“I’ve got two teenage daughters who are just starting their lives,” Adams said. “I don’t know how to keep a roof over our heads.”
Adams is just one of many survivors, especially renters, facing the prospect of having no place to go.
A recent survey by the Department of Angels, a nonprofit group that’s tracking recovery efforts, found that 28% of all survivors have run out of displacement coverage. The survey also found that survivors want elected officials to prioritize insurance availability and affordability; financial and tax relief; and speeding up permitting and rebuilding.
Katie Clark, co-founder of the Altadena Tenants Union, said the “situation on the ground is dire,” especially for renters. “People are wondering if they have to live out of their cars, and pull their kids out of school. We need money and housing. This is not rocket science.”
Pushing for federal funding
While officials at every level of government push for federal funding, fire survivors have traveled to Washington, D.C., to do the same. But the Trump administration has been slow to release funding to California, and it’s unclear when the billions of dollars in long-term disaster recovery money the state has requested will come — if at all. FEMA has told states they will need to handle most disasters themselves, according to a recent leaked recording from the National Emergency Management Association’s annual conference.
That alarms people like Sierra Lindsey Kos, co-founder of national nonprofit organization Extreme Weather Survivors, who said a federal funding gap strains local and state budgets.
“California communities are already confronting devastating wildfires, flooding, extreme heat, and a growing insurance affordability crisis,” Kos said. “Reducing federal disaster assistance would place even more pressure on families and communities navigating these challenges.”
President Donald Trump did not include Los Angeles County wildfire relief funding in his administration’s budget request for Congress this summer. Two members of Congress from California say the outcome of the November elections could be key to unlocking more federal aid.
U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, a Democrat from Los Angeles whose district includes Pasadena, recently helped pressure FEMA into releasing $6.6 million to pay the state back for services provided by case managers who helped people deal with insurance, FEMA aid permits for rebuilding and more.
The state requested additional funding to continue the program and was denied, but appealed. Chu said almost 1,400 open cases are waiting to be resolved. She called the program essential for survivors’ mental health.
The Department of Angels survey also asked survivors to rank their five most urgent issues right now. Mental health and long-term financial concerns came in first and second, respectively.
Chu and others are advocating for long-term federal funding, too. California has requested $16 billion through the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program — $8 billion each for the Eaton and Palisades fires.
“Basic FEMA funding cannot possibly do the job,” Chu said. “(Community development grant) funds will allow for individual recovery plus other essential causes that will help Altadena to rebuild.”
Congresswoman Norma Torres, a Democrat who represents the Inland Empire, lost her Pomona home to a fire more than 20 years ago.
“I know what these families are going through,” Torres said. “Right now we should be trying anything and everything to bring some relief to victims.”
Torres and Chu both said that if Democrats win the House of Representatives in November, federal aid to California and other states hit by disaster could start to flow.
Torres said her office is trying to find Republican lawmakers willing to advocate for disaster aid alongside Democrats. But she said because the president has not called for the aid, they are reluctant to lend their names to any effort to do so.
“I’m hoping after the midterms that my Republican colleagues have a different perspective and try to approach things in a more humane way,” Torres said.
Chu agreed: “My hope is that the mood of Republicans will be quite different when they lose the House and possibly the Senate. And they may see this as their only ability to shape what can come to their members.”
Some Eaton Fire survivors recently went to the nation’s capital to advocate for federal aid. They were joined by survivors of the 2025 floods in Texas and of the storms and subsequent prolonged power outages in Gary, Ind., when they met with staffers of U.S. lawmakers to ask about long-term federal disaster funds.
“We’re pursuing opportunities to get members of both parties in the room and have them hear directly from survivors,” said Sylvie Andrews, whose Altadena home burned down. “I really hope they were listening to us. They seemed sympathetic.”
Bill Gould, another Eaton Fire survivor who also lost his Altadena home — along with his prosthetics because he’s a left-arm amputee — said some staffers told them it was unusual to have direct contact with fire survivors. Both he and Andrews were underinsured and have yet to rebuild; federal aid could help them.
“It will be interesting to see how midterms maybe shake some of this up,” Gould said. “At the same time, time is not our friend. For us, with our (additional living expenses coverage) and our insurance, you don’t have forever for these things to resolve.”
Local and state efforts
Last year, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger met with Trump to ask for help for their constituents as well as for the county for its infrastructure needs. Altadena has more than $2 billion worth of infrastructure to repair and rebuild, said Anish Saraiya, Barger’s director of recovery for Altadena. He also said the county is working on establishing a financial assistance program.
“While we wait for federal resources, the supervisor says we’ll find every dollar out there,” Saraiya said.
Anthony Martinez, a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom, said California has committed more than $100 million toward affordable multifamily housing in the area. He also said the state will keep pressing the federal government for more funding that can support renters, including through the community development program.
The long-term aid program is usually administered by the Housing and Urban Development Department.
“Over the last 10 years, California has received billions in federal disaster aid for wildfires, but state and local leaders have not been good stewards of those funds to help their communities recover,” HUD said in an unsigned email response to CalMatters. “HUD remains committed to being good stewards of taxpayer dollars, ensuring every cent goes to serving those in need.”
The federal agency did not respond to follow-up questions.
