California wildfires

A year after the Eaton Fire destroyed thousands of homes in Los Angeles County, people are still rebuilding — and searching for contractors to do the job.

There are roughly 75,000 people in Los Angeles experiencing homelessness, and those in the path of the fires face additional risks.

Sawmills are poised to play a big role in making California more resilient to wildfires, but there may not be enough of them to go around.

A bill awaiting Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature would expedite permitting.

“You can pay kind of a lot to get us where we need to be on the front end of a disaster…or you could pay twice or three times as much to rebuild and recover,” said Mark Ghilarducci, Director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

A recently passed law allows some young people trained in firefighting to have their records expunged, opening doors to employment.

Scientists are looking at ways to determine if grapes from smoky areas can still be used, without adding an unpleasant ashy taste to wine.

Attorneys said they decided to pursue a civil prosecution instead of criminal charges to “maximize the return to the fire victims rather than to seek criminal penalties.”

But up to 14 million homes were built before fire safety measures took effect. Some insurers now offer discounts for risk reduction.

A new report looks at how resilient different parts of the country are to the threat of wildfires, and the long term displacement of people from their homes.