In January 2025, catastrophic wildfires tore through neighborhoods in Altadena, just outside Los Angeles. More than 16,000 structures were destroyed. Entire communities were displaced. And for many homeowners, the disaster wasn’t just losing a home — it was discovering how unprepared they were for what came next.
Over the past year, The Wirecutter Show podcast followed two of its own writers who lived through those fires. One lost his home entirely. The other returned six months later to a house contaminated by toxic ash. Their experiences revealed something important: the hardest part wasn’t only the disaster itself — it was navigating recovery afterward.
While San Francisco faces different environmental risks than Southern California, the lessons from Altadena apply directly to Bay Area homeowners. Because resilience in homeownership isn’t just about the structure. It’s about preparation, documentation, insurance clarity, and community.
Here’s what stood out most.
Community is real infrastructure
During the fires, emergency alerts were delayed or never arrived for some residents. Power and cell networks failed. In those critical hours, neighbors became the primary source of information — who had evacuated, which roads were open, whose pets were missing, which houses were still standing.
The people who already knew each other fared better. They shared resources. They relayed updates. They supported one another emotionally and practically long after the flames were gone.
For San Francisco homeowners, this is a reminder that neighborhood connection isn’t just social. It’s functional.
Knowing the people on your block, participating in neighborhood groups, or even having a simple text thread can become invaluable when normal systems are disrupted.
Disasters move faster than systems
Another striking lesson from Altadena was how quickly conditions changed — and how slowly official systems responded.
Some residents evacuated early based on weather awareness or neighbor communication. Others waited for formal instructions that arrived too late. The takeaway was clear: in a fast-moving crisis, you must be prepared to make your own decisions.
For Bay Area homeowners, that means:
• Understanding your neighborhood’s risk profile
• Knowing evacuation routes
• Keeping essential items and documents accessible
• Having a simple “go bag” ready
Preparedness isn’t panic. It’s optionality.
Recovery takes far longer than most people imagine
One homeowner was displaced for six months while his house underwent professional remediation to remove toxic ash contamination. Another lost everything and spent the next year navigating insurance claims, housing transitions, and rebuilding uncertainty.
Most people assume disaster recovery lasts weeks. In reality, it often lasts years.
And this is where the next lesson becomes critical.
Insurance is only helpful if you understand it before you need it
Both homeowners had insurance. Both assumed it would “just work” if disaster struck. Neither fully understood their policies beforehand.
After the fires, they learned:
• FEMA aid was minimal
• Insurance payouts required exhaustive documentation
• Claims involved negotiation
• Coverage gaps appeared where they didn’t expect them
One of the most daunting tasks they faced was creating a complete list of everything they owned — down to socks, kitchen utensils, books, and furniture — because insurers only reimburse what you can prove existed.
Reconstructing that list after losing everything took months.
Their advice now is simple:
Document your home before anything happens.
A quick video walkthrough once every few years — opening drawers, closets, cabinets, garage storage — can save enormous time and financial loss later. Store it in cloud storage. Do the same with important documents like IDs, insurance policies, and property records.
Most homeowners never think to do this. Until they need it.
Know what your policy actually covers
Home insurance policies are long, technical documents. Most people glance at the premium and the coverage total and move on.
But real-world claims depend on:
• Replacement cost vs. depreciated value
• Temporary housing coverage (Additional Living Expenses)
• Remediation and testing coverage
• Code upgrade allowances
• Landscaping and exterior structures
• Specialized disaster riders
If you don’t understand what you have, you don’t know what you’re entitled to when negotiating a claim.
The homeowners in Altadena both said their biggest regret was not reviewing their policies before disaster struck.
Assess your home’s real risks
In Altadena, one homeowner had invested in fire-hardening: brush clearance, tree trimming, upgraded vents designed to close under high heat. He believes those upgrades helped limit damage to his home.
San Francisco homeowners face different risks — earthquake, wind-driven storms, flooding, hillside erosion, infrastructure outages — but the principle is identical.
Knowing what your property is exposed to allows you to:
• Adjust insurance coverage appropriately
• Make targeted home improvements
• Reduce long-term risk
• Avoid costly surprises
The quiet truth about modern homeownership
Perhaps the most powerful realization from the Wirecutter series is this:
You can’t control disasters.
But you can control preparedness.
Strong documentation. Clear insurance knowledge. Simple emergency planning. Connected neighborhoods. Thoughtful home maintenance.
These are the unglamorous parts of homeownership — but they are the difference between stability and chaos when life takes an unexpected turn.
A final note
I hope you never face a catastrophic loss event. Most of us won’t. But the homeowners in Altadena didn’t think it would happen to them either.
As a San Francisco real estate advisor, part of my role is helping homeowners think beyond the purchase — toward long-term protection of their investment and peace of mind.
If you’d like a simple San Francisco–specific homeowner preparedness checklist, I’m happy to share one.
Source:
Insights adapted from The Wirecutter Show podcast series “The True Cost of Recovering From the LA Wildfires” Parts 1 and 2, produced by The New York Times and published January 7 and January 9, 2026.
