LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Today marks six months since deadly wildfires hit Southern California. On January 7, unusually strong Santa Ana winds turned parts of the Los Angeles area into an inferno. The two largest fires were in the Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Thirty people were killed, and more than 16,000 structures were destroyed. Steve Futterman went to one street in Altadena to see what it's like now.
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STEVE FUTTERMAN: The Reverend Jerry Wilson (ph) has been taking evening walks on Loma Alta Drive for years, and he loved it.
JERRY WILSON: Laughter, life, horses everywhere, people walking their dogs, saying hi to your neighbors.
FUTTERMAN: Once he returned to his home, though, after the fires and resumed his walks, he noticed a difference.
WILSON: And then it was like someone dropped a bomb. And I don't know if you ever walked out after a snowfall and how you had that eerie silence. And so that's what it feels like.
FUTTERMAN: On this slightly more than two-mile stretch of Loma Alta, we found 22 homes still standing. Before the fire, there were more than 150.
TED ANCONA: Well, we had a 2,000-square-foot house and a pool and had a car collection. We actually lost 10 cars at the night of the fire.
FUTTERMAN: Ted Ancona (ph) remembers January 7 - how the fire quickly spread, how people panicked and, finally, the desperation to escape. For those whose homes didn't burn, they still have difficulty talking about it - like Karyn Kemmerer.
KARYN KEMMERER: I think those of us that are here are grateful but (crying) grieving.
FUTTERMAN: You're grieving still.
KEMMERER: (Crying) Sorry. I didn't know I was going to cry. It's just such a mass area and so many homes.
And for at least two miles east of us, maybe there's 5% of the homes that weren't burned.
FUTTERMAN: Even for the homes still standing, it is virtually impossible to escape smoke damage. Richard Page (ph) experiences that every day.
RICHARD PAGE: Yeah. It permeates everything, you know, just everything - your skin, your clothes, every single thing that's - so this house is - you know, people come over, and they go, oh, wow, you know. It's really pungent in here.
FUTTERMAN: Assessing smoke damage has become a contentious issue for some whose homes are still standing and are trying to get relief from their insurance companies. Indeed, insurance is an issue for many.
LUCIO RODRIQUEZ: The insurance company, they're, like, nickel-and-diming you.
FUTTERMAN: Lucio Rodriquez (ph) thinks his insurance company is making it difficult for him to collect. His home was destroyed.
RODRIQUEZ: Well, they're asking you, how old was your clothes, how old were your underwear. They say, oh, you have pictures of your jewelry. It's like, I don't take pictures of stuff like that.
FUTTERMAN: Rebuilding is not going to be quick or easy.
LUKE MELCHIOR: The people who are thinking that this is going to rebound in a year are woefully uninformed. It's just not how these things go.
FUTTERMAN: Luke Melchior is a contractor. We met him in front of a home he is rebuilding on Loma Alta. He has dealt with this before.
If we come back a year from now, what do you think we'll see?
MELCHIOR: On this particular street, you'd be lucky to see five houses built.
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FUTTERMAN: As I walked with Jerry Wilson, I asked if Loma Alta Drive will ever be the way it once was.
WILSON: The truth of the matter is it's never going to be the same. It's not going to be the same demographic. It's not going to be the same economics.
FUTTERMAN: I did find one sound that has returned. On the nearby, mostly empty tennis courts on Loma Alta, a father and daughter were playing pickleball.
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FUTTERMAN: For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Altadena, California. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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