>>> NOW, IT HAS BEEN A YEAR SINCE A SERIES OF DEADLY FIRES TORE THROUGH SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, WHICH LEFT NEARLY 80 SQUARE MILES BURNED, FORCED TENS OF THOUSANDS TO FLEE THEIR HOMES, AND CLAIMED THE LIVES OF AT LEAST 31 PEOPLE.

MANY GATHERED AT AN EMOTIONAL VIGIL LAST WEEK, MOURNING THOSE THAT HAD DIED AND THE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT HAD BEEN LOST.

MORE THAN SEVEN IN TEN OF ALTADENA RESIDENTS ARE STILL DISPLACED AS REBUILDING DESTROYED HOMES HAS PROVEN TO BE CHALLENGING.

SHAWN HUBLER IS THE LOS ANGELES BUREAU CHIEF FOR "THE NEW YORK TIMES" AND SHE JOINS HARI SREENIVASAN TO TAKE STOCK OF THE PROGRESS SO FAR.

>> THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

UNFORTUNATELY IT HAS BECOME STANDARD NOW FOR PEOPLE TO HEAR ABOUT ESSENTIALLY FIRE SEASON IN CALIFORNIA.

AND EVERY YEAR YOU'LL SEE SOME HEADLINES AND SO FORTH.

HERE WE ARE, A YEAR AFTER SOME OF THE BIGGEST FIRES, BUT HELP OUR AUDIENCE PUT IN PERSPECTIVE WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR WITH THE EATON FIRE AND THE PALISADES FIRE, HOW SIGNIFICANT WERE THEY?

>> IN A LOT OF WAYS IT WAS KIND OF A PERFECT STORM WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR.

IT WAS WILDFIRE IS NOT UNUSUAL IN CALIFORNIA.

IT HAPPENS.

THE PLACE IN MANY WAYS IS BUILT TO BURN.

BUT THE FIRES WERE JUST --THEY WERE NEXT LEVEL, REALLY.

THEY WERE --IT WAS AS IF THE ENTIRETY OF LOS ANGELES WAS ON FIRE ALL AT ONCE.

SCARCELY RAINED FOR ABOUT SIX MONTHS BEFORE THE FIRES BROKE OUT.

SO IT WAS VERY DRY LAST YEAR.

ON TOP OF THAT THERE HAD BEEN SEVERAL YEARS OF RAIN, PARTICULARLY WET YEARS, SO THERE WAS A LOT OF VEGETATION.

ON TOP OF THAT, THE SANTA ANA WINDS WHICH ARE FAMOUS HERE, HAD BEEN SUPER CHARGED BY AN UPPER ATMOSPHERE ATMOSPHERIC CONDITION THAT MADE THEM REALLY --HAD TURNED THEM INTO EXTREME --REALLY EXTREME WINDS AND ON TOP OF THAT, LOS ANGELES JUST GENERALLY IS A PLACE WHERE THERE IS A HOUSING SHORTAGE, THERE ARE A LOT OF HOUSES AND NEIGHBORS IN COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BUILT UP IN AREAS THAT ARE FIRE PRONE.

THE --THERE WERE A T OF HOMES AND HUMAN FUEL IN THESE AREAS THAT WERE NEAR WILDLANDS.

AND SO THE PALISADES ARE ON THE COAST NEAR SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS, THE EATON FIRE TOOK PLACE IN AN AREA WHERE THERE ARE COMMUNITIES IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE SAN GABRIEL MOUNTAINS.

IT WAS PEAK FIRE CONDITIONS.

>> THE NUMBERS IN YOUR STORY ARE STAGGERING.

THIS IS -- THESE FIRES TRAGICALLY KILLED 31 PEOPLE.

THEY DESTROYED 13,000 HOMES, 16,000 BUILDINGS.

AS SOMEONE WHO HAS SEEN AND COVERED DISASTERS IN CALIFORNIA, EARTHQUAKES, WILDFIRES, HAVE YOU SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS?

>> I'VE SEEN A LOT OF DISASTER IN CALIFORNIA, IT IS UNFORTUNATE BUT TRUE.

AND THESE WERE, AS I SAID, THESE WERE NEXT LEVEL.

THIS --LOS ANGELES BURNS, BUT NOT THIS MUCH OF IT AT ONCE.

THERE WERE 12 FIRES SCATTERED IN -- THAT THIS FIRESTORM ACROSS THE -- ACROSS THE REGION.

THE FIREFIGHTERS HERE WERE STRETCHED AT ONE POINT ACROSS FIVE FIRES AT ONE TIME AND NOT JUST REGULAR FIRES.

THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, BIG, BIG WILDFIRES.

AND THE BURN SCARS ARE --COVER A TOTAL AREA OF ABOUT 80 SQUARE MILES.

IT IS AN AREA ABOUT THREE TIMES FOR REFERENCE ABOUT THREE TIMES THE SIZE OF MANHATTAN.

SO, NO, I HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING IN LOS ANGELES QUITE LIKE THIS, THIS WAS AN HISTORIC FIRE.

THE EATON AND PALISADES FIRES ARE AMONG THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE FIRES IN STATE HISTORY AT THIS POINT.

>> NOW, IN YOUR PIECE, YOU AND YOUR TEAM WROTE ONE YEAR AFTER THE L.A.

FIRES, HOPE, BLAME AND DEBT WAS THE TITLE OF IT, YOU WRITE MORE THAN 70% OF RESIDENTS WHO WERE DISPLACED REMAIN SO, WHILE FOUR OUT OF TEN FIRE SURVIVORS HAVE TAKEN ON DEBT AND ALMOST HALF HAVE WIPED OUT MUCH OF THEIR SAVINGS ACCORDING TO THE MOST RECENT SURVEY BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ANGELS NONPROFIT ADVOCACY FOR SURVIVORS OF WILDFIRES.

PUT THOSE NUMBERS AND THOSE PEOPLE IN PERSPECTIVE HERE WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT BLOCK AFTER BLOCK AND HOUSE AFTER HOUSE COMPLETELY GONE.

YOU ALSO ARE POINTING OUT IN THIS STORY SOME SIGNIFICANT INEQUITIES, ONE NEIGHBOR HAS THE ABILITY TO REBUILD AND THE OTHER DOES NOT.

>> I MEAN, IF YOU CAN IMAGINE IN LOS ANGELES IN PARTICULAR, HOUSES ARE NOT JUST --THEY'RE NOT JUST SHELTER, THEY'RE REPOSITORIES OF PEOPLE'S LIFE SAVINGS.

AND SO, FOR A LOT OF FOLKS, THEIR RETIREMENT WAS TIED UP IN THESE HOUSES, YOU KNOW.

THEIR --SOME OF THEM INHERITED THE, YOU KNOW, PROPERTY THAT --AND SO ON, SO IT IS AN EXTREME LOSS FOR ALMOST ANYONE.

AND EVEN INCLUDING PEOPLE OF MEANS FOR THAT MATTER.

IT TAKES --IT TAKES A LONG, LONG TIME TO REBUILD AFTER A DISASTER OFTEN AND A LOT OF FOLKS HAD ISSUES WITH INSURANCE, WITH UNDERINSURANCE, WITH, YOU KNOW, HOUSES THAT WERE UNINHABITABLE BECAUSE OF TOXIC SMOKE CONTAMINATION.

AND, YOU KNOW, THERE HAS BEEN AN ISSUE WITH FEDERAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE NOT COMING IN.

A LOT OF REASONS WHY REBUILDING HAS TAKEN AN ESPECIALLY LONG TIME.

BUT, AND HONESTLY, I HAVE TO SAY, WE WERE LOOKING FOR SIGNS THAT THE PALISADES, WHICH IS RICHER, WOULD BE REBUILDING MORE QUICKLY THAN, SAY, ALTADENA, WHICH IS MORE MIDDLE CLASS, MIDDLE INCOME.

BUT AT THE MOMENT, BOTH OF THEM --BOTH OF THEM LOOK A LOT ALIKE, ONLY A HANDFUL OF HOUSES ON EITHER PLACE HAVE BEEN REBUILT TO THE POINT WHERE PEOPLE CAN MOVE BACK INTO THEM.

WE ANTICIPATE THAT THAT WILL CHANGE IN THE COMING YEAR, THOUGH.

IT IS LIKELY THAT FOR A LOT OF FOLKS WHOSE INSURANCE COVERS LIVING EXPENSES, THINGS LIKE THAT, THAT INSURANCE COVERAGE IS GOING TO RUN OUT AND THOSE FOLKS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DECIDE, YOU KNOW WHETHER TO CUT THEIR LOSSES OR WHETHER TO PAY --CONTINUE TO PAY OUT OF POCKET AND WORSEN THEIR DEBT.

SO IT IS A REAL -- >> YOU TALKED TO SOME PEOPLE THAT ARE LITERALLY WATCHING THEIR NEIGHBOR'S HOME GET REBUILT BUT BECAUSE OF PAPERWORK REQUIREMENTS, THEY'RE NOT SEEING A DIME AND THEY'RE ACTUALLY HEMORRHAGING THEIR LIFE SAVINGS.

>> MY COLLEAGUE JILL COWAN INTERVIEWED ONE FAMILY, THEIR HOME WAS DAMAGED BY WIND AND ASBESTOS CONTAMINATION, THAT'S A BIG PROBLEM ACROSS THE BASIN.

AND THEY CAN'T MOVE IN WITHOUT EXTENSIVE REMEDIATION, THEIR INSURANCE COMPANY HASN'T PAID THEIR LIVING EXPENSES BECAUSE OF DISPUTES OVER THE DOCUMENTATION.

AND WHILE THEY HAGGLE, THIS FAMILY IS PAYING ABOUT $3,000 A MONTH, ABOUT AVERAGE FOR A TWO-BEDROOM APARTMENT IN LOS ANGELES.

THEY'RE LIVING WITH THEIR SON, THEIR DOG, THE WOMAN'S GRANDMOTHER, OR MOTHER, RATHER, THE HUSBAND'S EMPLOYER HAS LOST A CLIENT, BECAUSE OF THE FIRE, HE'S WORKING TWO HOURS AWAY AND THEY MAXED OUT THEIR SAVINGS, THEY MAXED OUT THEIR CREDIT CARDS, Y'RE LOOKING AT $30,000 IN BACK MORTGAGE THAT THEY HAVE TO PAY WHEN THEIR FORBEARANCE ENDS.

THIS KIND OF A STORY IS NOT UNCOMMON.

AS AWFUL AS IT SOUNDS, IT ISN'T JUST THIS ONE FAMILY.

WE HEARD STORY AFTER STORY LIKE THIS ABOUT PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY AT THE END OF THEIR ROPE.

>> WE TALKED ABOUT THE HUMAN COST, THE FIRES ARE APPARENTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR $131 BILLION IN PROPERTY AND CAPITAL LOSSES, STATE OFFICIAL ASKED THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR $40 BILLION BUT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HASN'T KICKED THAT BACK, ONLY ABOUT $6 BILLION.

WHAT HAS THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S REASONING FOR WITHHOLDING ANY OTHER FUNDS?

>> WELL, INITIALLY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SEEMED WILLING TO HELP AND PROMISED TO HELP.

AND EARLY ON THE FIRES BROKE OUT BEFORE THE PRESIDENT TOOK OFFICE, AND SO INITIALLY THERE WAS MONEY TO REBUILD, ABOUT $6 BILLION KIND OF FLOWED TO THE STATE FOR REBUILDING.

BUT, YOU KNOW, THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS TAKEN A KIND OF DIFFERENT APPROACH TO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND DISASTER AID.

AND IN THE PAST, COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN HIT BY DISASTERS AND STATES HAVE RELIED ON THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR THESE KIND OF REALLY BIG TICKET COSTS THAT --TO COVER THINGS LIKE INFRASTRUCTURE AND SCHOOL REBUILDING AND ROADS AND, YOU KNOW, AND LONG-TERM ASSISTANCE.

AND NOT JUST IN CALIFORNIA, BUT IN OTHER DISASTER AREAS AS WELL.

THE ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN KIND OF SEEKING TO SHIFT THOSE COSTS LESS TOWARD THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND MORE TOWARD THE STATES, MORE TOWARD THE COMMUNITIES THEMSELVES AND SO THE AID HAS BEEN SLOWER TO FLOW IN A LOT OF PLACES.

THE REASONING ISN'T ENTIRELY CLEAR, BUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAS TRANSLATED INTO IN CALIFORNIA IS A YEAR LONG LAG FOR THIS MONEY, AND IT HAS BECOME A REAL POINT OF CONTENTION.

THERE IS A SENSE THAT KIND OF A GROWING SENSE THAT THE DETERIORATED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM, WHO IS A DEMOCRAT -- A LEADER IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND THE PRESIDENT HAS, YOU KNOW, HAS PLAYED INTO IT, THAT THAT RELATIONSHIP ISN'T, YOU KNOW WHAT IT WAS DURING THE FIRST TERM, AND BUT JUST GENERALLY SPEAKING THERE IS A DIFFERENT POLICY TOWARD DISASTER AID FROM THIS ADMINISTRATION.

IN ANY CASE, THE MONEY HAS BEEN REALLY SLOW TO FLOW.

>> SO WAS THAT ANY DIFFERENT AT THE END OF THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION VERSUS HOW THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION IS RESPONDING TO THE STATE'S REQUEST?

>> OH, YEAH, THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WAS VERY QUICK TO SIGN EMERGENCY ORDERS AND DECLARATIONS AND TO HELP FINANCIALLY.

>> YOU KNOW, IN THAT YEAR NOW, WE HAVE SEEN ALSO A RECHARACTERIZATION OF THE PEOPLE WHO RIGHT AT THE FIRES, THE L.A.

FIRE DEPARTMENT, AUTHORITIES, THEY WERE HAILED AS HEROES AS GETTING SOME OF THE STUFF DONE AND NOW WE HAVE LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AGAINST ALMOST EVERY PART OF THE CHAIN OF EXACTLY WHO IS RESPONSIBLE.

WAS THERE A RESERVOIR THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN FILLED MORE, OR SHOULD THE FIRE DEPARTMENT HAVE STAGED PEOPLE IN PLACES EARLIER, WHAT DID THEY KNOW, WHEN DID THEY KNOW IT.

>> YEAH, THERE IS A LOT OF BLAME.

ONE OF THE -- ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT HAS COME OUT OF THIS FIRE IS THE EXTENT TO WHICH HUMAN ERROR, YOU KNOW, MAY HAVE FACTORED INTO MAKING IT WORSE THAN IT OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE BEEN.

ONE THING ABOUT WILDFIRE IS THAT YOU HAVE TO PUT THEM OUT EARLY, OTHERWISE WHEN THEY CATCH ON, THEY'RE VERY, VERY DIFFICULT, ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO PUT OUT.

AND THERE IS JUST BEEN A LOT OF BLAME TO GO AROUND.

THE PALISADES FIRE, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS AN INVESTIGATION HAS FOUND THAT IT WAS A REKINDLE, THAT IT WAS --THAT IT WAS CAUSED BECAUSE OF SMOLDERING EMBERS FROM A FIRE THE WEEK BEFORE.

THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT THOUGHT IT HAD PUT OUT, BUT HADN'T.

IT HAD BURNED UNDERGROUND IN THE WILDLAND AND THEN WHEN THE WIND STARTED TO STIR, IT HAD REKINDLED AND BURNED INTO THE CITY.

THAT'S AN ISSUE.

THERE ARE ISSUES AROUND WHETHER ENOUGH ENGINES THAT WERE PREDEPLOYED IN THE AREA, WHETHER SHIFT OF ABOUT A THOUSAND FIREFIGHTERS COULD HAVE BEEN HELD OVER, AND WASN'T.

THERE WAS A RESERVOIR THAT WAS OFFLINE FOR REPAIRS THAT WAS OWNED BY THE CITY, WHY DID THAT HAPPEN?

THE MAYOR WAS OUT OF THE COUNTRY ON A DIPLOMATIC TRIP AT THE TIME THE FIRE BROKE OUT.

SHE HURRIED BACK, BUT PEOPLE IN THE PALISADES DIDN'T REALLY SUPPORT HER TO BEGIN WITH AND THEY REALLY HAD FORGIVEN HER SINCE.

THE --IN ALTADENA, THE EVACUATIONS WERE LATE IN PARTS OF TOWN AND ALL BUT ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO DIED THERE DIED IN A -- IN THAT AREA WHERE THE BLACK COMMUNITY HAD BUILT UP THIS NEIGHBORHOOD AND SAO THERE IS A LOT OF ANGER THERE.

THERE ARE SERIOUS QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT.

PLUS, THERE HAVE BEEN QUESTIONS FOR THE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER THERE, COMPLAINTS THAT THE STATE HAS NOT HELD THE LINE ON INSURERS.

AND THERE ARE COMPLAINTS ALSO AS I SAID EARLIER ABOUT THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, AND THE FEDERAL MONEY NOT ARRIVING YET.

SO THERE IS A LOT OF BLAME, A LOT OF ANGER.

>> ARE THERE SYSTEMS THAT HAVE NOW BEEN HELD ACCOUNTABLE, THAT HAVE BEEN MADE BETTER?

THERE WAS A RECENT REPORT THAT SAID THAT WHILE THE FRONT LINE RESPONDERS ACTED DECISIVELY AND HEROICAL LY IN THE FACE OF EXTRAORDINARY CONDITIONS, THERE NEEDED TO BE IMPROVED PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.

L. A. FIRE DEPARTMENT SAID --THEY'RE SAYING THIS ISN'T ALL JUST OUR FAULT, THEY REFLECT LEADERSHIP DECISIONS, LEGACY SYSTEMS AND CONSTRAINT.

IN THE WAKE OF SOMETHING LIKE THIS, HAVE THE CHANGES BEEN MADE, WHERE IF SOMETHING LIKE THIS WERE TO HAPPEN AGAIN, THAT WE WOULD RESPOND BETTER, FASTER, SAVE MORE LIVES?

>> YEAH.

THAT KIND OF CHANGE IS VERY DIFFICULT.

IT SOUNDS EASY.

BUT IT IS NOT.

THERE IS A HOUSING CRUNCH IN LOS ANGELES.

ONE BIG LESSON FROM THE FIRES WOULD NATURALLY BE DON'T BUILD NEAR THE WILDLAND.

BUT THESE COMMUNITIES ARE, YOU KNOW, DECADES, HUNDREDS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE OLD COMMUNITIES.

THEY HAVE BEEN THERE FOR A LONG TIME.

THERE IS --ARE WE GOING TO TAKE AWAY AS I SAID THE LIFE SAVINGS OF THESE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AND NOT ALLOW HOUSES NEAR THE --NEAR HIGH FIRE ZONES.

A LOT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY IS IN A HIGH FIRE ZONE.

THAT'S AN ISSUE.

EVEN SMALLER THINGS LIKE BUILDING A FIRE BREAK AROUND YOUR HOUSE.

THERE IS A PUSH ON THE STATE LEVEL TO MAKE PEOPLE BUILD -- NOT HAVE LANDSCAPING WITHIN FIVE FEET OF THEIR HOUSE HERE.

EVEN THAT HAS GOTTEN A LOT OF PUSHBACK.

PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO GIVE UP THEIR SHADE TREES AND ENGLISH GARDENS.

IN SINGLE FAMILY HOMES, THAT'S THE DREAM, IT IS SACROSANCT AND PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO GIVE IT UP IN A LOT OF WAYS.

THAT'S AN ISSUE.

IT IS EASIER SAID THAN DONE.

AS FOR THE LEADERSHIP, THIS IS AN ELECTION YEAR.

THE MAYOR IS UP FOR RE-ELECTION.

SHE'S GOT TWO CHALLENGERS AT LEAST WHO LOST HOMES IN THE PALISADES FIRE.

THERE ARE INVESTIGATIONS, HALF A DOZEN INVESTIGATIONS INTO THESE FIRES AND WHO DID WHAT, WHEN, WHO KNEW WHAT WHEN, WHO MIGHT HAVE DROPPED THE BALL OR MADE AN ERROR.

AND THERE IS ALSO A GROWING APPRECIATION I THINK, THOUGH, THAT THESE KINDS OF DISASTERS ARE -- HAVE GOTTEN WORSE.

THE SWINGS IN CLIMATE HAVE GOTTEN WORSE.

SO, THERE IS SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FACE MORE OFTEN.

>> YEAH.

I WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT HURRICANE FORCE WINDS, ON THE CALIFORNIA COASTLINE, WHILE THERE ARE FIRES RAGING, HOW MUCH OF THIS JUST COULD HAVE BEEN A FLUKE INCIDENT, THAT YES OUR CLIMATE IS CHANGING AND OUR FIRES ARE GETTING WORSE, BUT THERE MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN A WAY TO PREDICT OR PREPARE FOR SOMETHING SO MASSIVE AT THE SAME TIME?

>> THERE IS A STRONG ARGUMENT TO SAY THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN PREDICTED.

THE WEATHER SERVICE WAS PREDICTING WEEKS IN ADVANCE THAT WIND WAS ABOUT TO KICK UP.

AND THERE IS A STRONG UNDERSTANDING OF RED FLAG CONDITIONS HERE.

AT LOS ANGELES, IF IT UNDERSTANDS ANYTHING HERE, PEOPLE HERE UNDERSTAND FIRE.

THEY KNOW FIRE WEATHER.

IT IS A FAIR POINT THAT THE LEADERSHIP HERE SHOULD HAVE SEEN IT COMING.

AND SOME LEADERS, YOU KNOW, DID SEE IT COMING AND THE PREPARATION VARIED ACROSS THE BOARD THAT WAY.

THERE IS -- AS FOR IT BEING A FLUKE, I DON'T KNOW THAT IT IS GOING TO BE THAT.

THE CLIMATE SCIENTISTS THAT WE HAVE SPOKEN TO TELL US THAT, YOU KNOW, THE --THAT THE DRYS ARE DRYER AND THE WETS ARE WETTER HERE AND THE CONDITIONS THAT KIND OF CONSPIRED TO CREATE, YOU THEY, TO NURTURE THIS DISASTER ARE LIKELY TO HAPPEN AGAIN.

SO, THE QUESTION, THOUGH, IS HOW ADEPT ARE WE GOING TO BECOME AT FIGHTING THESE FIRES AND WHAT KIND OF RESOURCES ARE WE GOING TO PUT INTO IT AND HOW MUCH ARE WE WILLING TO SACRIFICE.

>> YOU GOT THE OLYMPICS COMING IN A COUPLE OF YEARS.

AND I'M WONDERING WHETHER L. A. WILL HAVE RECOVERED BY THEN.

IS IT ON PACE NOW TO GET BETTER IN A YEAR?

>> WE'LL SEE.

A LOT OF LOS ANGELES AS I SAID IS NOT IN THE BURN SCAR, THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS.

IT IS A MATTER OF FIRST AND FOREMOST MONEY AND SUPPORT, BUT IT IS ALSO JUST A PROBLEM OF MORALE TOO.

THE FIRES WERE A GUT PUNCH TO LOS ANGELES.

AND NOT JUST IN THE BURN SCARS, THERE WAS A POLL THAT WAS DONE, UCLA DID A POLL, IN THE SPRING, AND IT JUST SHOWED HOW WIDESPREAD -- HOW WIDESPREAD THE IMPACT OF THE FIRES, HOW WILD WE FELT THEY WERE ACROSS SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.

SO MANY PEOPLE KNEW SOMEONE WHO HAD LOST A HOME OR WERE, YOU KNOW, EMPLOYED SOMEONE WHO HAD BEEN DISPLACED BY THE FIRE OR HAD LOST BUSINESS BECAUSE OF IT.

AND SO IT WAS A -- IT HAS BEEN A PRETTY WIDELY FELT THING.

IN THAT RESPECT IT WAS COMPARABLE TO THE NORTH RIDGE EARTHQUAKE AND OTHER WIDESPREAD DISASTERS LIKE THAT.

>> THE LOS ANGELES BUREAU CHIEF FOR "THE NEW YORK TIMES," SHAWN HUBLER, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

>> THANK YOU.