Los Angeles — As firefighters work to contain the devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area, a new crisis is taking shape: a worsening housing shortage in a region already grappling with severe affordability issues.
The fires have destroyed over 12,000 structures, leaving thousands of families without homes and intensifying the housing crunch in Southern California.
Aurielle Hall, a single mother of a 12-year-old daughter, Jade, is among those directly affected. She lost her Altadena duplex in the Eaton Fire and has struggled to cope with the fallout.
“I can’t afford to grieve,” Hall said.
Her former home was rented at a rate more than $1,000 below market value, a rare find in the area. Now displaced, Hall fears the difficulty of securing affordable housing.
“Knowing the challenge I’m going to have, we won’t be living in a safe area or a place with grass,” she said.
For now, Hall and her daughter are staying in a temporary home in Hermosa Beach provided by the N.O.A.H Foundation, a local nonprofit. However, Hall’s monthly income of $3,700 makes it nearly impossible to find housing that meets her family’s needs.
According to Zillow, the median rent in Los Angeles is $2,798—40% higher than the national average.
“This is a housing crisis on top of a housing crisis,” said realtor Robin Walpert, whose Pacific Palisades neighborhood was impacted by the Palisades Fire.
Even before the fires, L.A. County estimated the region needed 450,000 affordable housing units by 2029 to meet demand. With the average apartment complex taking four years to build, the road to recovery seems daunting.
Walpert, whose home was spared, believes the city’s resources are stretched thin.
“We’re maxed out,” she said. “It’s overcrowded, under-resourced, and now this is just overwhelming.”
Despite the challenges, Hall remains determined to find a permanent home for her family.
“I’ve been homeless before,” she shared. “It’s triggering because I promised myself I’d never let us be in this situation again. So, we’re desperately searching for stability.”
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