Their homes remain standing, but these L.A. wildfire victims still might lose them
Survivors of the L.A.-area fires whose homes are still standing face ballooning smoke remediation costs but don't know how much their insurance companies will cover.
LOS ANGELES — Every morning for 47 years, Gaily Cowart’s mother woke up in her sun-filled bedroom overlooking a lush garden and the San Gabriel Mountains beyond.
That garden and much of her mother’s home are now covered in ash and soot after the Eaton Fire ripped through Altadena on Jan. 7, destroying more than 9,000 residences in the foothill community north of downtown Los Angeles. At least 17 people died, and thousands more were displaced.
Cowart’s childhood house survived the flames but is surrounded by charred homes and razed businesses near what used to be Altadena’s bustling business corridor. The neighborhood off Lake Avenue sustained some of the worst damage in one of two major fires that swept through Los Angeles County in January.
The garden of Gaily Cowart's childhood home in Altadena, Calif.Courtesy Gaily Cowart.The Eaton and Palisades fires displaced about 150,000 residents, and many remain in rentals and hotel rooms nearly two months later. Survivors whose homes are standing face ballooning smoke remediation and restoration costs, as well as insurance companies that are lowballing payouts even though some offer smoke damage coverage.
NBC News spoke with seven homeowners whose houses survived the fires. Six of them paid for smoke damage coverage through insurance, and one did not have the option through the state’s insurer of last resort.
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