Gov. Gavin Newsom visited areas of Los Angeles County recovering from the Eaton and Palisades fires last week and repeated a request for “long-delayed” federal funding to aid recovery efforts.
Newsom met with survivors in Altadena and Pacific Palisades to learn about funding initiatives to speed up rebuilding and visited homes undergoing construction, including one by Habitat for Humanity expected to be completed next month.
“As we approach the one-year mark since the devastating firestorms in Los Angeles, we’re still standing with every survivor who’s navigating the trauma, the loss, and the long path back,” Newsom said in a statement. “But we can also see and feel the progress. Homes are going back up, businesses are reopening, and communities are locking arms to help each other heal.
“As these neighborhoods rebuild, we’re not going anywhere — we’re committed to seeing this through and ensuring this community comes back stronger than before,” he added.
Newsom also again called on President Donald Trump to authorize nearly $34 billion in funding for recovery from the LA wildfires.
In a Dec. 11 letter to Trump that followed a trip to the nation’s capital earlier this month, Newsom submitted a fourth request for funding since February, when the president promised he would “take care” of survivors, according to Newsom’s office.
“Recovery requires partnership, commitment, and follow-through,” Newsom wrote to Trump.
“We may trade our share of political jabs, but in moments of disaster and recovery, American families expect us to work together. They deserve cooperation.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Newsom highlighted the state’s ongoing work with local government agencies to provide emergency resources, temporary housing and long-term recovery support.
Throughout the county, private-sector organizations and local government agencies are assisting with recovery, officials said. Efforts include low-cost preapproved plans, fast-tracking the permit process and doing the actual rebuilding of damaged or destroyed houses.
Newsom visited two organizations Thursday that are supported with funding from LA Rises, the philanthropic initiative spearheaded by Los Angeles Dodgers Chairman Mark Walter, Magic Johnson and LA28 President Casey Wasserman. The Foothill Catalog Foundation and Habitat for Humanity of the San Gabriel Valley help to provide preapproved rebuilding plans to fire survivors.
The Foothill Catalog Foundation received $1 million from the LA Rises initiative, in partnership with the California Fire Foundation, to streamline the rebuilding process, according to Newsom’s office. Two local architects founded the Pasadena-based nonprofit organization after watching their neighbors’ homes burn in the Eaton Fire.
The foundation offers low-cost, custom-designed plans to fire survivors, saving time and money on architectural and permitting fees. Currently 20 preapproved plans are ready for use in Altadena, and in January the foundation is preparing to launch a catalog of plans custom-designed and preapproved for Pacific Palisades. The grant from LA Rises also supports the foundation’s program offering step-by-step assistance throughout the rebuilding process.
In line with the several Newsom executive orders, local governments have enacted fast-tracked permitting for fire rebuild projects, “eliminating unnecessary reviews and streamlining local processes,” according to the governor’s office. Local governments have received $4 million in state grants to increase agency staffing and resources to hasten construction timelines.
“As a result, local agencies are processing permits with, on average, fewer than 30 days of local review time,” Newsom’s office reported. “The average time from application to permit issuance for rebuilding homes across these agencies is approximately 85 days, which includes time spent by homeowners and their design teams making revisions to bring their plans up to code.”
After the meeting with planning experts at the Foothill Catalog Foundation, Habitat for Humanity of the San Gabriel Valley hosted Newsom at the worksite of a house in progress in Altadena. The site is using one of the foundation’s preapproved plans and is scheduled for completion early next year.
Habitat is currently building 25 new homes and repairing 12 in Altadena and has received $1.5 million in LA Rises funding through the California Fire Foundation.
According to the governor’s office, thousands of permits have been issued in Los Angeles County at a rate that is nearly three times the speed of processing prior to the fires. On average, local governments approve rebuilding permits in less than 90 days.
Newsom also stopped at Gladstones, a landmark Pacific Palisades restaurant that sustained smoke damage. The restaurant was closed in the months following the fires and partially reopened in July, with a full indoor reopening planned for early 2026, according to published reports.
Officials said $3.2 billion in fire recovery assistance has so far been approved from the U.S. Small Business Administration, and $144.2 million in individual assistance has been disbursed to residents.
California lawmakers have passed laws to aid in the rebuilding and recovery efforts of Los Angeles, including bills to codify Newsom’s executive orders, and legislation for Los Angeles fire survivors to receive mortgage relief and to provide fair interest for disaster-affected homeowners.
