As Pasadena picks up the pieces after a devastating windstorm, city officials are shifting their focus toward residents and businesses rebuilding, even as the Eaton fire remained minimally contained as of Friday evening.

So far this week, the wind-whipped Eaton and Palisades fires have claimed ten lives, destroyed more than 10,000 structures, and upended countless communities across the region.

Now, as the city begins to transition toward recovery, officials said their focus is helping those affected find shelter amid a growing housing affordability crisis and speed up the rebuilding process. They are also tapping into every available resource to get the community back on its feet as soon as possible.

“ I think our most urgent priority as we turn to the recovery phase is streamlining the opportunity for homeowners and businesses to rebuild,” Councilmember Rick Cole said Thursday. “ Pasadena is a notoriously difficult place to get permits, and we simply can’t afford not to staff up and expedite the opportunity for people to rebuild.”

While the specifics of how to organize that effort ultimately comes down to the city manager, Cole said the city will likely need “a special unit strictly devoted” to helping those affected by the crisis, using disaster relief resources that federal, state or county governments offer.

To kick off the recovery process, Cole said the city will begin by officially declaring a local emergency during Monday’s City Council meeting. The declaration will outline the crisis’s impacts and lay the groundwork for long-term recovery efforts.

Councilmember Tyron Hampton, who spent the day walking the streets of the 1st District and speaking with residents, highlighted another pressing concern: immediate shelter for displaced families.

“There’s been about seven structures in my district that I have seen firsthand that had caught on fire, and/or homes that have caught on fire,” Hampton said Thursday. “ And so the priority is No. 1, to make sure that those families have a place to be, a place to stay.”

However, he also echoed the need to help residents rebuild quickly once the fire is contained and the smoke clears.

“We need to let people be able to rebuild as soon as possible,” he said. “We should be able to have 24-hour turnaround on permits or eight-hour turnaround on permits, just rapid on the permit process so that people can get back into their homes.”

On the other hand, Councilmember Gene Masuda, who represents the 4th District — the hardest-hit area among Pasadena’s seven districts — said that residents’ safety remains the key focus as recovery efforts continue.

“The priorities are always the same: Safety for the residents, protecting homes and property, and of course, even protecting our businesses as well,” he said.

Flames tore through Upper Hastings Ranch, a neighborhood famous for its Christmas lights display, which has dazzled visitors for more than 70 years.

According to Masuda, more than a hundred homes in Upper Hastings Ranch burned down. He spent much of Wednesday driving through the neighborhood, surveying the damage firsthand.

“It looked like a war zone ... I still saw some fires,” Masuda said Thursday. “The fire departments were trying to put out even the smaller fires and just to get control of the whole neighborhood, so that it will be fire free, but I don’t think we’re there yet.”

Although a significant portion of the 2nd District, represented by Cole, faced evacuation, he believes the area didn’t lose any homes.

OTHER NEEDS

Beyond rebuilding, Cole pointed to another crisis — housing

“ The other huge issue that looms here is we already had an acute affordability crisis and now we’ll have 500 or so local families from Pasadena and Altadena needing shelter,” Cole said. “And while some will have the resources to do that on their own, it will cumulatively put even more pressure on the local housing market.”

Hampton also urged actions to hold insurance companies accountable, including making sure that they don’t abandon California residents at this crucial time.

“I did ask our City Council to declare a formal emergency about our insurance crisis and how they were gouging our residents by increasing their insurance premiums by 300%, but unfortunately that didn’t pass at the Council,” Hampton said. “I can’t turn back the hand of time, but I think now our Council members, hopefully they understand the severity of this.”

Hampton said he will be requesting several items as agenda items.

“No. 1, our insurance is not in order. No. 2 would be expediting permit processes. No. 3 would be looking at microloans to help people rebuild,” he said.

HOW DID FIRE START?

In addition, Hampton called for an investigation into the fire’s cause.

“We still have things that we have to do in a timely manner, right? Because we have legal parameters around those,” he said, “but our policies and our conversations should all be talking about this fire and this incident and how did this happen? How did it occur? How did Altadena lose so much, and what can we do to help?”

Still, Hampton made it clear that helping residents rebuild remains the most urgent task.

“Until we rebuild our community, anything that we were talking about should be something that is discussed in the future,” he said. “Until we rebuild our community, our residents deserve us to take care of them now.”

Despite the destruction, Hampton expressed confidence in the community’s ability to recover. He described how neighbors, including those who lost their homes, have stepped up to help others in need.

“I have seen community members that have lost their homes, literally lost their homes, lost everything that they have, and they’re out giving out masks, they’re out putting water on their neighbors’ roofs because they don’t want that to happen to them,” Hampton said.

“Our community is coming together,” he added. “We are stronger and we will be stronger and we will rebuild and we will be a better community because of this.”