'Blame insurance.’ Where Altadena's Black families stand after fires

Paris Barraza, USA TODAYFri, February 27, 2026 at 10:24 PM UTC

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Insurers not fully paying out. People needing money to clean homes affected by environmental hazards. Investors buying up lots.

More than a year after the Eaton Fire left 19 people dead, about a dozen people gathered on the steps outside Victory Bible Church in Pasadena on Friday, Feb. 27. There, they detailed an onerous recovery process in Altadena in the wake of a fire that disproportionately impacted Black households.

And the need is “even greater” than from immediately after the fires, said Marc Philpart, CEO of the Black Freedom Fund.

“When people ask us, ‘Why aren’t you in your home? It’s been a year,” Nicole Stephens said. “You can blame insurance… why would your home insurance company fail you every month? Every month. Why? Why? Why? Is it because we’re Black? Maybe.”

Stephens stood alongside her sister, Natalie LaFourche. Their homes remain standing in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire, but they now live together with their respective families, according to LaFourche.

LaFourche said she has been paying her mortgage for a house she can’t live in on top of rent. She recently received reimbursement for rent, but she hasn’t received reimbursement for hotel, Airbnb stays, or the appliances she had to purchase for their home — all the while dealing with different adjusters, LaFourche said.

Residents and leaders discussed the problems hampering recovery in Altadena after the Eaton Fire outside a church in Pasadena on Feb. 27, 2026.

“I should’ve been living in my home by now,” LaFourche said while discussing the toxins found in her home. “But they are denying, delaying the process — they don’t want to pay. But I’ve paid into the premium. The numbers are there. What is the issue?”

Allisonne Crawford rents her family home in Altadena, owned by her mother. She grew up in the community and described her desire to uphold her family’s home and honor her parents, who worked hard to get a home there. Her insurer has not fully paid out for loss of use, and her home still needs remediation, Crawford said.

That's on top of navigating income eligibility limits that she described as not taking into consideration people who work multiple jobs, "as is necessary when you live in a place like Altadena."

1 / 0See dramatic before and after images from the Eaton Fire one year later

TOP A firefighter sprays water on a burning home while battling the Eaton Fire on Jan. 8, 2025 in Altadena, Calif. BOTTOM A property that was destroyed by the Eaton Fire nearly one year ago sits vacant on Dec. 18, 2025. The destructive and deadly wind-driven Eaton Fire ripped through Altadena, California, on Jan. 7, 2025, killing 19 people and destroying more than 9,000 structures. The fire is the fifth deadliest and the second most destructive wildfire in California history. Getty Images staff photographer Justin Sullivan revisited some of the locations he covered during the fire, nearly one year after it happened.

What Black families need to return to Altadena

Lisa Odigie of the Eaton Fire Collaborative had several demands outside the Pasadena church.

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Stop investors from taking over, and “keep Altadena land in Altadena hands"; Get people into emergency and interim housing within Altadena and the surrounding communities so that temporary displacement doesn’t turn into permanent displacement; and fund emergency rental assistance.

“These are not radical ideas,” Odigie said. “They are the minimum required to give Black families a fighting chance to come home.”

The Black community in Altadena was shrinking prior to the fire, Odigie said. Before one of California’s most destructive fires scorched the region one year ago in January, affecting Black households particularly hard, and before investors began purchasing lots in the wake of the fire, Odigie said. A UCLA data brief found that the Eaton Fire disproportionately impacted Black households in Altadena.

“History has a word for this process, and it’s called displacement, and it is happening now,” Odigie said.

More: What do LA fire victims really need from Trump? Billions in federal aid

The press conference outside the Pasadena church came about two weeks after the California Department of Justice announced it would investigate the emergency response to the Eaton Fire, driven by a key question: Whether the Los Angeles County Fire Department delayed in notifying and evacuating the historically Black West Altadena community and violated state anti-discrimination and disability rights laws.

Philpart described the issues with recovery as systemic, ones that can’t be solved by a single organization alone. But community organizing is how they’ll win.

“We must invest in Black communities’ capacity to build power and lead in the recovery,” he said. “When rebuilding is properly resourced, it means families aren’t forced out by delays, by speculation or under-insurance.”

“It means impacted communities are not just consulted, they are driving solutions and setting priorities,” Philpart continued. “It means recovery strengthens, not erodes, Black land, wealth, and belonging.”

Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Recovery difficult for Black Altadena residents after Eaton Fire

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