What Counts as Proof in a House That Didn't Burn
Nina and Billy Malone's house in Altadena survived the January 2025 Eaton fire. They moved back in that August, after their insurer stopped paying for them to live anywhere else. Nina has had headaches almost every day since, and tests after a professional cleaning still found lead on the floors.
Families with surviving homes in Altadena and Pacific Palisades weigh four kinds of evidence: their own bodies, lab results, the insurance adjuster, and a new California smoke-damage law. Each one answers a narrower question than whether to go home.
What Counts as Proof in a House That Didn't Burn
Nina and Billy Malone's house in Altadena survived the January 2025 Eaton fire. They moved back in that August, after their insurer stopped paying for them to live anywhere else. Nina has had headaches almost every day since, and tests after a professional cleaning still found lead on the floors.
Families with surviving homes in Altadena and Pacific Palisades weigh four kinds of evidence: their own bodies, lab results, the insurance adjuster, and a new California smoke-damage law. Each one answers a narrower question than whether to go home.
Who Else Was in the Room When They Weighed Having Children
Mary Annaïse Heglar, a climate writer, buys her nephew books about animals and feels guilty wondering whether those animals will still exist when he's grown. About having children herself, she said she isn't sure, "even outside of climate."
Nine Americans have weighed children against a warming future in published essays and interviews. Three decided to try for a child, three decided against, three were unsure. In each account, climate came up beside a spouse who wanted a big family, a graduate program, a paycheck, or parents hoping for grandchildren.
Who Else Was in the Room When They Weighed Having Children
Mary Annaïse Heglar, a climate writer, buys her nephew books about animals and feels guilty wondering whether those animals will still exist when he's grown. About having children herself, she said she isn't sure, "even outside of climate."
Nine Americans have weighed children against a warming future in published essays and interviews. Three decided to try for a child, three decided against, three were unsure. In each account, climate came up beside a spouse who wanted a big family, a graduate program, a paycheck, or parents hoping for grandchildren.
The Free AC She Didn't Take, an Imagined Interview With a Retired Title Examiner
CONTINUE READINGInsurance Inventory Brief
Mary Landau, 78, lived in her Altadena house for nearly 50 years. After the Eaton Fire destroyed it in January 2025, AP reported, her insurance claim meant doing what insurers usually require before they pay for belongings: listing them. She had to reconstruct each item, its age and its condition from memory, for a series of adjusters. "I'm very bad with paperwork," she said. A case manager helped.
California has since made that list optional, at least at first. When a home is fully destroyed after January 1, 2026, insurers must offer at least 60% of the policy's contents limit (the most it pays for belongings) with no list. Landau's fire came a year too soon.
Skipping the list spares a survivor months of itemizing a life. The other 40% still sits behind it, reachable only with recall, receipts and time. AP also reported that survivors like Landau were set to lose their case managers. Industry groups opposed the rule, warning of overpayment. The list protects insurers against that risk. I'm less sure what it protects for someone trying to remember 50 years of belongings.
