Thursday, June 25, 2026

Altadena Shows Earlier Signs of Recovery Than the Palisades, County Report Finds

Lake Avenue in Altadena, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. [Eddie Rivera / Pasadena Now]

A 17-month economic update tracks rebuilding permits, transit use and displacement across the two 2025 fire areas

The Eaton Fire area around Altadena is showing earlier signs of recovery than Pacific Palisades on several measures, Los Angeles County reported Monday, even as fewer than 1% of destroyed homes have been rebuilt and displacement assistance runs out for thousands of survivors.

The finding comes from Los Angeles Wildfires: An Economic Update #3, released by the county Department of Economic Opportunity and the LAEDC’s Institute for Applied Economics. It is the third quarterly report tracking the Eaton and Palisades fires, which began January 7, 2025.

As of April 2026, the report says, 32.83% of homes destroyed in the Eaton fire had received rebuild permits, compared with 19.87% in the Palisades. Across both areas combined, 26.7% of destroyed structures had permits — a pace the report says resembles the fastest-recovering U.S. wildfires on permit issuance, including the Tubbs and Marshall fires. Completion tells a different story. Just 0.47% of destroyed structures across the two areas have passed final inspection and received occupancy approval — 0.62% in the Eaton area and 0.31% in the Palisades — a completion pace the report says resembles slower-recovering fires such as the Maui and Camp fires.

Residential vacancy in the Eaton area, measured from U.S. Postal Service data, has begun to decline, the report says. In the Palisades, it has not. Across jurisdictions, the report estimates an average of 79 days from a permit application to its issuance, and 193 days from application to a completed rebuild.

Transit data drew a sharp contrast. Pasadena Transit, the primary local provider for Altadena, ran 22.6% above its adjusted pre-fire baseline by the first quarter of 2026, according to the report. Metro routes most disrupted by the fires remained 17.7% below their pre-fire ridership over the same period.

The report’s labor findings were mixed. Business reactivation surged in both fire areas in the last quarter of 2025, well above the countywide average, but local hiring stayed soft. Job postings tied to Altadena fell 8.2% during 2025, while Eaton-related postings fell 21.1% and Palisades-related postings fell 38.4%. At the same time, the report says, demand grew for occupations tied to rebuilding, including construction managers, project managers, environmental specialists, social workers and field operations personnel.

“Getting people back into their communities is one of the most important indicators of long-term recovery,” said Kelly LoBianco, director of the county Department of Economic Opportunity. “When residents return, schools, small businesses, healthcare providers, transit systems and other neighborhood-serving institutions can begin to recover alongside them.”

The household toll remains heavy. The report estimates annual local-spending losses of $73.6 million in the Eaton area and $79 million in the Palisades — more than $150 million a year combined. About 38% of survivors have already exhausted or will soon exhaust their displacement coverage.

Pasadena and Altadena share Pasadena Unified, which has reported fiscal pressure from fire-related enrollment loss. In Altadena, three public schools were damaged and have announced plans to rebuild on their original sites, though timelines have not been set.

“Looking at this broad range of indicators gives us a more complete understanding of where recovery is advancing and where additional support may be needed,” said Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose district includes Altadena and Pasadena.

The next quarterly update is expected later in 2026.