Many in Pacific Palisades Were Not Wealthy. After Fire, Can They Rebuild?

Los Angeles — Many Pacific Palisades locals, current and former, have been following the Facebook feed of 56-year-old Kent Steffes. He lives in nearby Brentwood now and hasn’t lost his home, but perhaps that’s given him the emotional bandwidth to share more effectively with others what’s happened to their old neighborhood.

Overlooking the Pacific Ocean like its neighbors Malibu and Santa Monica, Pacific Palisades is an affluent neighborhood by any measure. It’s home to celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Reese Witherspoon and Tom Hanks. Median home values often exceed $3 million. Luxury homes sell for tens of millions. But many of the families who’ve lost their homes are not fabulously wealthy.