As Angelenos debate the proper path to rebuilding after last month’s historically destructive wildfires, officials are tallying the damage in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
Due to uncharacteristically high winds, two massive and costly wildfires started on Jan. 7 after a long period without rainfall. Together they damaged or destroyed more than 16,000 properties, impacting 2,000 businesses and 43,000 residents within the fire perimeters, according to data released Monday by JLL (JLL). Residential homes accounted for 70 percent of all properties destroyed.
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The Palisades Fire scorched 23 acres and destroyed 6,660 structures, including 80 percent of the homes within the area. In total, the fire damaged more than 5,000 single-family homes, as well as 138 multifamily buildings homes, 1,081 utility facilities, 102 commercial properties, 265 mobile homes, 51 schools and six religious buildings.
The Eaton Fire in Altadena was not as far reaching but it was more destructive, damaging more than 9,400 structures. That includes more than 6,000 single-family homes, as well as 3,135 utility facilities, 12 mobile homes, 96 multifamily buildings homes, 98 commercial properties, 46 schools, and nine religious buildings.
The losses will exacerbate Southern California’s persistent housing shortage and is expected to cause rents to increase throughout the area. Further, demand for outdoor storage space in the region is expected to rise as people look for materials and equipment to rebuild.
Similarly, these losses are expected to create further demand for construction work over the next three years, leading to increased labor costs in a market already experiencing a construction labor shortage, according to JLL.
Billionaire developer and former mayoral candidate Rick Caruso on Monday launched a nonprofit organization with a coalition of private sector partners, with the goal of expediting and strengthening the rebuilding process.
Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.
