Monday, May 4, 2026

Nonprofit Walks Eaton Fire Survivors Through the Hidden Traps of Rebuilding

The free Zoom session tackles contractor disputes, insurance shortfalls, and construction scams that have already surfaced across the burn zone

Sixteen months after the Eaton Fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures across Altadena and surrounding foothill communities, property owners who are ready to rebuild face a second gauntlet — one made of contracts, change orders, and insurance math that rarely adds up on the first try.

United Policyholders, a nonprofit consumer organization founded in 1991 that accepts no funding from insurance companies, will host a free Zoom webinar on Thursday, May 21, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. titled “Avoiding and Solving Problems During a Post-Wildfire Rebuild.”

The session is aimed at property owners whose homes were destroyed in the Los Angeles wildfires and is part of the organization’s Roadmap to Recovery program, a long-running educational effort the nonprofit activates after every major disaster, according to the organization’s website.

The webinar’s subject matter reflects what previous Eaton Fire survivor sessions have identified as the stage where recoveries most often stall: the rebuild itself. Topics include setting realistic budgets and plans, selecting and working with a builder, understanding the role of insurance payments and mortgage companies in construction timelines, building a resilient and insurable home, construction quality control, and avoiding the scams, delays, and contractor disputes that have already begun surfacing in the post-fire construction market, according to the event listing on the organization’s website.

Those problems are not hypothetical. Contractor fraud and predatory restoration practices have dogged Altadena and parts of Pasadena since shortly after the January 7, 2025, fire, and insurance claim disputes have compounded the difficulty for thousands of households trying to move from debris clearance to actual construction. The advocacy organization Every Fire Survivor’s Network has reported that 70 percent of insured Eaton and Palisades fire survivors faced delays or underpayments blocking their recovery; the figure has not been independently verified but is consistent with patterns reported by NPR, the Los Angeles Times, and other outlets.

United Policyholders is a 501(c)(3) based in San Francisco that was co-founded by Amy Bach, a consumer advocate and attorney who serves as its executive director, and Ina DeLong, a longtime insurance professional, according to the organization’s website. The organization has spent 35 years helping disaster survivors navigate insurance claims and rebuild decisions. Its Roadmap to Recovery program has previously supported survivors of the Tubbs, Atlas, Kincade, and Woolsey fires, and is now serving households impacted by the Eaton and Palisades fires through clinics, webinars, and a corps of roughly 150 trained volunteer mentors the organization calls “Fired UP Survivors” — each of whom has personally been through a disaster recovery, according to the organization’s Roadmap to Recovery program page.

The nonprofit has held multiple events in the Altadena and Pasadena area since the fire, including in-person clinics at The Collaboratory, 540 West Woodbury Road in Altadena, and at the Pasadena Senior Center, 85 E. Holly St. in Pasadena, according to the organization’s events page. The May 21 webinar is the latest in a series that has addressed topics from initial insurance claims to dwelling claim settlements.

The webinar is free and open to all wildfire-impacted property owners. Registration is required. Information and registration are available at uphelp.org.

The Eaton Fire, which began on the evening of January 7, 2025, in Eaton Canyon, burned 14,021 acres over 24 days before it was fully contained on January 31, 2025, according to Cal Fire. The fire killed at least 19 people, according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner, and destroyed 9,418 structures according to Cal Fire’s completed damage inspections, making it the second most destructive wildfire in California history.

United Policyholders’ “Avoiding and Solving Problems During a Post-Wildfire Rebuild” webinar takes place Thursday, May 21, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. Admission is free. Registration is required at uphelp.org.

For a community still measuring recovery in permit applications and insurance checks, the 200 decisions buried inside a rebuild are the ones that will determine whether families come home — or don’t.