The recent L.A. fires have exacerbated the city’s housing crisis, particularly in Altadena, where the Eaton Fire destroyed homes, including rentals and affordable housing complexes under construction. Many victims, far from wealthy, now face the challenge of finding housing in an already strained market.

According to Adele Peters, reporting for Fast Company, rents are already spiking, a pattern observed after disasters like the Paradise, California fires, where housing costs rose by 10-20%. Kelsea Best, a professor at Ohio State University, explains that rental housing often takes longer to rebuild, with fewer resources for renters compared to homeowners.

Prior to the fire, Altadena was gentrifying, with rising housing costs pushing out long-standing communities. Los Angeles, already facing a shortfall of over 450,000 housing units by 2029, has seen the fires disrupt affordable housing projects like Agave, intended to house homeless individuals, and a senior housing complex.

As Peters highlights, rebuilding will take years, intensifying an already critical housing crisis in the region.