Los Angeles wildfires exacerbate the region’s housing crisis

Los Angeles — As firefighters continue their progress containing the deadly wildfires in the Los Angeles area, a new crisis is emerging.

The wildfires have destroyed more than 12,000 structures, and a Southern California housing shortage that was already serious has been made even more dire.

Aurielle Hall, a single mother to her 12-year-old daughter Jade, says she has not even had time to grieve the loss of her Altadena duplex in the Eaton Fire.

“I can’t afford it,” Hall said.

The monthly rent on Hall’s now burned duplex was more than a $1,000 below market value.

“Knowing the challenge I’m going to have, we won’t be living in a safe area, or a place that has grass,” Hall said.

The two have short-term home in Hermosa Beach that was provided through N.O.A.H’s Foundation, a local nonprofit organization.

Hall says her income will make it a challenge to find something affordable that meets her family’s needs. A report last year found that L.A. is one of the least affordable major cities in the world. According to the latest numbers from Zillow, the median monthly rent in L.A. is $2,798, 40% higher than the national median.

“I make $3,700 a month, and what, the average two-bedroom is, $2,500, $2,800, it’s unrealistic,” Hall explains.

As the smoke clears, the scale of loss is coming into focus. Even before the fires, L.A. needed to build 450,000 affordable housing units by 2029 just to meet demand, according to numbers from L.A. County. On average a new apartment building takes four years to build.

CBS News was with realtor Robin Walpert as she drove to see her neighborhood in Pacific Palisades for the first time since the Palisades Fire.

“This is a housing crisis on top of a housing crisis,” said Walpert, whose home was not destroyed in the blaze.

She believes the city’s resources are at their limit.

“We’re maxed right now,” Walpert said. “It’s over-congested, under-inventoried, if that’s a word, and this is crazy to see.”

Hall, meanwhile, is determined to find a new home.

“I’ve been homeless before,” Hall said. “So, it’s so triggering to have vowed to myself: I’ll never have us in this kind of situation again. So we’re just desperately looking for permanent housing.”

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Wildfires add strain to Southern California’s housing crisis

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