Homeowners Battle for Billions to Rebuild a Year After LA Fires

As an inferno roared toward her California home last January, Pauline Ching didn’t have time to grab family photos or her Chinese jade and ivory antiques. The house where she had raised her children and welcomed grandchildren soon became a statistic: one of more than 16,000 structures destroyed in the costliest wildfires in US history.

A year on, Ching is among the first homeowners to begin rebuilding in Altadena, the Los Angeles suburb ravaged by the Eaton Fire. She persuaded almost half of the 54 homeowners in her gated community to hire a single contractor, securing bulk discounts and faster ...