In the past decade, California has experienced fourteen of the most destructive fires on record. And there are a lot of factors that contribute to these mega-fires we've experienced: heat, dry vegetation, wind. But there always has to be a spark.

After a series of destructive wildfires in 2017 and 18 – including the Camp Fire that destroyed the town of Paradise, California – Governor Gavin Newsom created the “California Wildfire & Forest Resilience Task Force” to address the growing threat of fire.

For the last several years, that group has been focused on land management, hardening neighborhoods and perhaps the most elusive - preventing humans from accidentally starting a fire on a bad day.

In this episode of Rebuilding L.A., host Kate Cagle talks to some of the members of this task force to learn what the state is doing differently to mitigate our first risk. You can see their draft proposal below -- you can also weigh in and share your thoughts on the link provided.

GUESTS:

Patrick Wright, Director of the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force.

Michael O’Connell, president and CEO of Irvine Ranch Conservancy .

Jeff Heys. Shared Stewardship Coordinator with the U.S. Forest Service.

Draft Wildfire and Landscape Resilience Action Plan: https://actionplan2026.wildfiretaskforce.org/

How you can weigh in on the proposal: https://airtable.com/appvMJm0wvHBu2yHG/pagoOh9dwKxPIPeur/form

Climate change isn’t getting nearly as much credit for last January’s destructive fires as it once did. Evidence of failed electrical equipment, alleged arson, and government missteps has dominated the conversation. But when you talk to the scientists and the researchers, the risks posed by climate change are still very much in the mix. But human activity plays a role, too.

UCLA professor and climate scientist, Alex Hall, joins host Kate Cagle to talk about how we can better prepare ourselves for the next mega-fire, including a proposal to create a classification system -- and a standardized response -- for Santa Ana wind storms, similar to the one we use for hurricanes in the U.S.

GUEST: Alex Hall, Director, Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA

Study: Climate Change A Factor In Unprecedented LA Fires: https://sustainablela.ucla.edu/2025lawildfires Expert Perspective: Wildland Fuels Management Would Not Have Saved Us from the January 2025 LA FiresCalifornia Ecosystem Futures: The Future of California Drought, Fire, and Forest Dieback: https://www.ioes.ucla.edu/project/future-california-drought-fire-forest-dieback/

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently approved California's request to extend housing assistance to survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires. But more than 18 months after those January 2025 fires, survivors are still waiting on an additional $16 billion in federal disaster relief from the federal government, which was revised down earlier this year from nearly $34 billion.  California leaders say this is unprecedented — the federal government has always sent money to communities recovering from disasters — and that the lack of this funding is directly impacting the rebuild. So where is it?

Congresswoman Judy Chu is hopeful, based on recent conversations between state and federal officials, that this issue could be resolved within the next few months. In this episode, Rep. Chu joins host Kate Cagle to discuss this as well as other support she and the state are working on to help survivors recover and rebuild, including a proposed $100 million rebuilding fund which, if enacted in the state budget, could be announced later this summer.

GUEST: U.S. Representative Judy Chu, CA-28

Rep. Chu Commends Passage of Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2025: https://chu.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-chu-commends-passage-federal-disaster-tax-relief-act-2025 U.S. House of Representatives Passes Bill to Shield Eaton Fire Settlements From Federal Taxes: https://www.altadena-now.com/main/government/u-s-house-of-representatives-passes-bill-to-shield-eaton-fire-settlements-from-federal-taxes/ Governor Newsom announces revised budget that eliminates California’s deficit, maintains investment for fire survivors: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2026/05/14/may-revise/

Long after the smoke cleared and the news crews left, many fire survivors are still carrying grief, anxiety, and the emotional weight of losing a community, a routine, and a sense of place.

In this episode of Rebuilding LA, we visit Saved By A Story, a writing workshop founded by Palisades fire survivor Kathy Katims. The monthly gatherings bring together survivors of the Palisades and Eaton fires to write, reflect, and share their experiences in community.

Eighteen months after the disaster, this episode explores how storytelling can help survivors process trauma, reconnect with one another, and begin to reclaim what was lost.

GUESTS: Kathy Katims, founder of Saved By A Story, and members of the wildfire survivors writing group, including Karen Lee Hopkins, Millie Hopkins, Manson Jones, and other survivors of the Palisades and Eaton fires

Today people are not just rebuilding their homes but their lives. On top of the task of just figuring out whether to move back and rebuild a house or leave and start over someplace else, survivors have lives to live, jobs to carry out, children to raise, and marriages to hold together. The weight of it all can sometimes feel too heavy to bear. But there are ways to work through it and process the trauma.

To talk about this, Rebuilding L.A. host Kate Cagle talks with Dr. Bonnie Zucker. She’s a clinical psychologist, specializing in anxiety. She is also a Palisades fire survivor.

GUEST: Psychologist Bonnie Zucker

Bonnie Zucker's book Freedom from Panic: https://www.newharbinger.com/9781648487347/freedom-from-panic/?srsltid=AfmBOor2oaRy6Y-qmd37rDtvPRynSOrMfJRwT8Y--8K34Wcn6lPudWy8

Anxiety Matters podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/anxiety-matters/id1787949420

It turns out you can burn down a neighborhood and not destroy a community. The one great silver lining to these fires in Los Angeles is that survivors are transcending the physical ties. No matter how much has been destroyed or how far people have been scattered, relationships between neighbors have become deeper.

We’ve seen evidence of this all across L.A., in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and Altadena, and so we will head back to one neighborhood -- one street -- that’s a pretty good example of that bond: West Poppyfields Drive in Altadena.

GUESTS: Altadena residents Whitney Haggins, John Hall, Pat and Kate Gray, Sandra and Donald Estes, and Shelley Thai.

Eighteen months after the Eaton and Palisades Fires, it's not gotten any easier for survivors. But there are good things happening. People are rebuilding. Survivors are making plans to return to these burned out communities — and it's not just one person at a time, but neighbors are coming back and rebuilding together.

One street where that's happening is Poppyfields Drive in Altadena. Resident Whitney Haggins has been charging ahead on her rebuild since her home burned down in January 2025, and at least 6 of her neighbors are following in her footsteps. It may be not the typical but it is a story of optimism that these residents hope will rub off on more people throughout Altadena.

GUEST: Whitney Haggins, Eaton Fire Survivor

The fire in the Pacific Palisades was still smoldering when Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass announced we would rebuild. Now, almost 18 months later, progress has been a mixed bag. Yes, homes are going up, but there still doesn't seem to be a "plan" for the return of all these neighborhoods, prompting many to ask whether we've moved too fast and without a bigger vision for making these communities whole again.

These are provocative questions we’ve been trying to answer - who is this all for? Author and CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti attempts to answer some of them in his new book about the Palisades Fire — and names a motive for a quick rebuild: the Olympic games coming to Los Angeles in 2028. His book is titled “Torched: How a City Was Left to Burn, and the Olympic Rush to Rebuild L.A”

GUEST: CBS News Correspondent & Author of "Torched," Jonathan Vigliotti

Excerpt of "Torched: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/book-excerpt-torched-by-jonathan-vigliotti-pacific-palisades-altadena/.

Find the Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Torched/Jonathan-Vigliotti/9781668219034.

Op-Ed: L.A. is rebuilding for the Olympics, not the next fire: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2026-02-11/la-fires-rebuild-for-olympics