There’s a saying that’s come up repeatedly since the L.A. fires in 2025: Disaster does not discriminate, but disaster recovery does. So many people – regardless of their wealth – lost everything. But whether you can claw your way back from disaster really depends on how much cash you have on hand, and how quickly you can get it. Even those who have insurance, the money that's supposed to pay for temporary housing is running out, and there are still not enough funds to build a whole house. Enter nonprofits like Greenline Housing Foundation. With its mission to help boost black home ownership and close the equity gap, Greenline has become something of a "first aid kit" for Eaton fire survivors, offering financial services that range from temporary housing grants to land banking that have helped some families fund their paths back home.

Jasmin Shupper, Founder, Greenline Housing Foundation

Greenlilne Housing Foundation: https://greenlinehousing.org/

We have a happy update for you. There's a block in Altadena, West Poppyfields Drive, and it's coming back. So far there are 9 houses in the process of rebuilding and a handful of them have all four walls up, roofs, porches, and even front doors attached and windows in. That includes Whitney's Haggins's house. We've been following her efforts to rebuild -- and that of her neighbors -- since last fall when she decided to go with a home design from the Foothill Catalog that had been pre-approved by Los Angeles County so she did need to wait for months on a building permit. The design is for a Craftsman, called The Lewis, and so far her plan is paying off. Whitney thinks she might be moving back home by next January, if not by Christmas. In this episode, we bring you the update on how Whitney and her neighborhood are coming along, plus a re-run of the two-part series we did on the Poppyfields people back in June.

GUESTS: Whitney Haggins and John Hall, Eaton fire survivors

The LA fires destroyed more than 13,000 structures, but thousands more were left standing in their wake. They were not burned, but saturated in smoke. Even homes beyond the perimeter of the burn zone had smoke damage. But there still hasn't been a lot of testing of these structures — or the soil around them — to see what toxins remain, leaving doubt in the minds of some survivors about whether it's safe to come back.

In the absence of the federal government, a handful of local government organizations, universities, and nonprofits have stepped in to help with soil testing. The latest effort is coming from the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. They just announced a $3 million program in conjunction with some nonprofits groups to test and clean the soil at homes still standing in the areas impacted by the Eaton Fire.

GUEST: Tony Briscoe, Environmental Reporter for the L.A. Times.

Feds won’t test soil after L.A. wildfire cleanup: https://www.latimes.com/00000194-fcb2-df26-a396-fdb326f10000-123. Uncovering the toxic soil lurking in L.A.’s burn zones: https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2025-05-04/treated-like-dirt-soil-testing-project.

L.A. County Board of Supervisors Advances Soil Remediation Program to Protect Altadena Families After Eaton Fire: https://kathrynbarger.lacounty.gov/l-a-county-board-of-supervisors-advances-1m-soil-remediation-program-to-protect-altadena-families-after-eaton-fire/