Ever since the fires from January that ravaged communities in Altadena and the Pacific Palisades, residents have had little to no hope for things moving forward — whether it is rebuilding their homes, being able to afford the material and labor costs, or being able to afford staying at a hotel, if they don't have family nearby. On top of that worry, the government and/or investment companies, such as BlackRock, are trying to swoop in and buy these lands to convert them into multi-family units and, in essence, eliminate home ownership in these areas.
They don't want to rebuild Pacific Palisades as it was. They want apartments.
— steve hilton (@SteveHiltonx) July 8, 2025
It's their agenda. War on single family homes. You must live in an apartment! Near transit! No car!
Is that how Gavin Newsom lives? If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for every Californian.… pic.twitter.com/XBma2m3YQs
Edwin Castro is an Altadena local who won a record two billion Powerball jackpot, and now has spent around $10 million buying 15 properties/land that were impacted by the Eaton Fire in Altadena.
Castro told the Wall Street Journal:
"I want it to feel like the old neighborhood. Like if you put all those houses pre-fire in a time bubble."
As expected, he does not plan on giving the homes away for free. The only problem in Castro's plan might be that, as he has stated, he will primarily build single-family units, and it will be a 10-year plan to rebuild; however, he has not ruled out building other structures.
"The profit margin doesn't need to be egregious,' he said. 'But I'm not building these homes just to give them away."
The good news is that Castro wants to sell the properties he plans to build to families who want to live in the area, rather than to investors.
A spokesperson for Castro had this to say:
"They love and care about the Altadena community and saw an opportunity to invest in it that would also help some impacted homeowners move forward while helping it retain its character and charm.
Many people who were affected by the fires in Altadena cannot or do not want to rebuild and aspire to move on and start over elsewhere. These purchases will help some of them while keeping ownership of the property local.
They anticipate that half the lots that were purchased will use the preexisting plans, and the others will remain single-family homes with new plans and designs."
Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso was asked about the fires, and here is what he had to say:
Rick Caruso on the LA Wildfires: 🤯
— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) October 3, 2025
“I was convinced 9 months ago, and I’m even more convinced today… that fire was completely preventable..
The fire department was never pre-deployed. Where the fires started is the SAME exact place they started 7 days before. I think what… pic.twitter.com/UUAMMNw2Ch
It remains to be seen whether Caruso will decide to run for mayor again or for governor, but it's fair to surmise that had we had him as mayor during that time, the firefighters would have been fully staffed, ready for any emergency, and had the resources needed to get to the fire before it spread. Instead, Los Angeles voted for Karen Bass, who was in Ghana while her constituents lost their homes.
While Altadena is slowly beginning to make progress on rebuilding, this is what the Palisades looks like:
Monday morning over six months after the fire and zero work. No trucks no crews no materials pic.twitter.com/BlUrhsFT26
— Adam Carolla (@adamcarolla) July 14, 2025
Nine months since the fire and the only thing that has gone up, is graffiti pic.twitter.com/SxSiofBvuz
— Adam Carolla (@adamcarolla) September 28, 2025
Going back to Castro, it's an encouraging sign in the sense that the government did not get to these properties. Hopefully, they never will, and all around Altadena and the neighboring areas, there are yard signs that say "Altadena is not for sale." The people are aware of what the government might be planning to do, and they will not sit back and allow their home ownership to be stripped away.
All in all, as a resident of Los Angeles County who had to be evacuated due to the fires, this is a big step in the recovery process in Altadena because Castro seems to be doing this with good intentions, unlike the government or companies like BlackRock, whose only goal is to flip single-family residences into multi-family units.
