We’ll unpack the latest on the Los Angeles fires. Also: The GOP is readying immigration policies before Donald Trump takes office.
Los Angeles has one of the lowest multifamily vacancy rates in the country. The fires will push rents even higher.
There are roughly 75,000 people in Los Angeles experiencing homelessness, and those in the path of the fires face additional risks.
Thousands of structures have burned in a region where the affordable housing crisis is already acute. What does this mean for the area’s existing unhoused population?
The system is already strained by climate-induced disasters, says Wharton’s Ben Keys. Homeowners across the state may bear some of the cost.
Devastation in LA and elsewhere has taught us what can help prevent catastrophes — more firefighters, improved water systems and mitigation.
As the California blazes demonstrate, the concentration of homes in urban areas raises risks and costs.
Spending on wildfire recovery has been growing for years. Plus, gas prices affect inflation, even when they’re excluded from the calculations.
In the past 10 years, the state’s firefighting agency, Cal Fire, has seen its budget more than double to $3.7 billion.
