More than 500 volunteers, corporate executives, entertainment figures and construction professionals have converged on Pacific Palisades and Malibu this week for a four-day community build aimed at rebuilding and repairing homes for wildfire survivors. The effort, running from Wednesday through Saturday, comes as roughly three in four survivors of the January 2025 Palisades Fire remain displaced nearly 18 months later, facing financial barriers that could ultimately price them out of the communities they've called home for decades.
The build is organized by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles through its ReBUILD LA initiative, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. Projects underway include rebuilding and repairing homes, landscaping, site clearing and broader revitalization work throughout the burn zone. The timing also coincides with Habitat for Humanity International's 50th anniversary, giving the campaign an added symbolic weight for the organization.
Erin Rank, president and CEO of Habitat LA, framed the build as part of a longer arc of recovery that outlasts the news cycle. Rank said the fire “captured the attention and concern of people across the country,” per the same report, adding that long-term recovery requires sustained action after that media attention fades. She described the build as bringing together a cross-section of Los Angeles to help the community heal.
Star Power Meets Construction Crews
Expected supporters this week include actors Joshua Jackson, Melissa Rivers, Bellamy Young, Haley Joel Osment, Karen Pittman, Julie Bowen and Chandra Wilson, along with boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, chef Cat Cora and Quentin Lake. Executives from Creative Artists Agency, Fox, the Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Football Club and the Los Angeles Rams are also expected to take part, alongside leaders from NBCUniversal, Paramount, the Rosenzweig Group, Samsung, Sony, United Talent Agency, the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Volunteers are assisting residents at locations throughout Pacific Palisades and Malibu, with partners and sponsors including Samsung Home Installation, Airbnb, United Airlines, Wells Fargo and the Los Angeles Rams, among others. Samsung Home Installation is outfitting at least one rebuilt home with new appliances as part of the effort.
Habitat LA brings prior disaster-recovery experience to the project, having built or repaired 120 homes across Los Angeles County following the 2018 Woolsey and Creek fires, according to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles. The nonprofit's ReBUILD LA initiative is part of its current wildfire-recovery effort.
A Fire That Reshaped an Entire Community
The Palisades Fire burned more than 23,000 acres and destroyed nearly 7,000 structures after igniting in January 2025, leaving entire communities changed, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported. Families affected by the disaster continue to face rising construction costs, insurance gaps and financial uncertainty, while low-income households in Pacific Palisades and Malibu who lost their homes remain displaced. The blaze burned more than 23,000 acres and destroyed 6,845 structures.
Corporate funding has underpinned ReBUILD LA from the start. Comcast NBCUniversal donated $2.5 million in January 2025 as the initiative's inaugural corporate partner, according to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles. In January 2026, a qualifying homeowner broke ground after insurance payouts fell short of rebuilding costs, with a 30-year deferred, 0% interest loan through ReBUILD LA.
Public Policy Trying to Keep Pace With Recovery
City and county officials have moved on multiple fronts to unblock rebuilding. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass introduced a set of pre-approved, code-ready single-family home plans for Pacific Palisades in March 2026, paired with Habitat LA's commitment to rebuild 75 homes for qualifying fire survivors; the designs range from 976 to 1,500 square feet and meet California Building Code wildfire-resilience standards, per the Office of Mayor Karen Bass. The city issued its first Certificate of Occupancy for a rebuilt Palisades home in November 2025, after Bass's emergency executive order removed more than 70% of single-family permit clearances to speed up the process.
State lawmakers stepped in as well. In August, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2692, allowing fire-affected homeowners associations — including Pacific Palisades' 107-unit Via de la Paz community — to reinstate expired governing documents without unanimous owner consent, according to the Office of Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin. Rebuilding at Via de la Paz had stalled after its CC&Rs expired shortly before the fire, leaving the community paralyzed despite 94% owner approval, and the new law unblocked $40 million in insurance funds and nonprofit aid for displaced residents.
Wealth Gap Complicates Who Gets to Return
Real estate data compiled in September 2026 shows pre-disaster median home values in Pacific Palisades wildfire zones reached $1.95 million, while Los Angeles County home price indexes have quadrupled since 2000, per Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles. Long-term residents built equity over decades, but rising construction costs and modern code requirements have added to the challenges of rebuilding.
That disparity has also created openings for exploitation. Los Angeles County prosecutors charged six individuals with felony unlicensed contracting in June 2026 after an undercover sting targeting illegal online solicitations for demolition, grading and ADU construction in fire-damaged Palisades neighborhoods, Hoodline previously reported. Risks include illegal down payments, fraud, unsafe construction and difficulty selling a home — concerns that underscore why organized, vetted efforts like this week's community build matter to families trying to rebuild without getting burned twice.
