As LA Fire Victims Look To Rebuild, Some Are Turning To Concrete For New Homes

Here are the morning’s top stories on Wednesday, November 12, 2025…

• The Palisades and Eaton fires are a sober reminder of just how flammable many urban and suburban homes are. Some survivors are responding by planning to build differently. Instead of the usual wood framing, these homeowners are opting to choose a material many of us associate more with freeways and skyscrapers –  concrete. 
• Many survivors of this year’s Los Angeles County fires are calling for the resignation of State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. Members of the grassroots organization Eaton Fire Survivor Network say the recovery process is moving too slowly, in large part because of the insurance industry.

Why Some Homeowners Rebuilding From The Palisades Fire Are Choosing Concrete

As rebuilding from the Palisades and Eaton fires gets under way, some homeowners are choosing to build differently. Instead of the usual wood framing, they’re working with a material typically associated with freeways and skyscrapers: concrete.

Only 7% of homes nationwide are currently built with concrete, according to the National Association of Home Builders. But experts say this hardy, non-combustible material could become more popular in areas with high fire risk, such as the Los Angeles County neighborhoods where thousands of homes were destroyed in January 2025. While concrete doesn’t make a home totally fire-proof, insurance companies are recognizing its safety benefits by offering homeowners lower premiums. While cost has been a barrier in the past, some homeowners say the expense of concrete now compares favorably with wood.

One recent morning on the Sunset Mesa lot where her home burned down, Karen Martinez adjusted her hard hat and flipped through the blueprints for her new home. Martinez has overseen the building process for many of her previous homes. But this will be her first project using concrete blocks. Technically called insulating composite concrete forms, the bulky gray blocks stacked all over her property are lighter than they appear. “It’s about 87% polystyrene and 13% cement,” said Martinez. “Basically they’re non-combustible. So in a fire, you’re pretty much safe from the walls burning.”

Martinez said there are other benefits beyond fire safety: she said the material can withstand earthquakes, and it won’t get termites because it contains no wood. Martinez saw the need to do things differently. The hardest part, she said, was getting others on board. Securing permits from L.A. County, talking her architect into using this kind of concrete, even helping her neighbors with plans for their own concrete homes. It all took some convincing. “Most architects and contractors don’t know how to use it,” Martinez said. “All they know is wood and maybe steel. It’s hard to convince people to change their ways. That’s my goal. I’m trying to just educate people and say that there are better ways to build.”

Some insurance companies agree. Victor Joseph, president and chief operating officer of Mercury Insurance, said his company is offering discounts to those who rebuild with fire resistant materials. “What we’re incentivizing with these types of discounts is really some combination of steel, concrete and glass,” Joseph said. He said homeowners can get up to 50% off the wildfire portion of their premium by rebuilding with materials like concrete. “In high wildfire areas, that results in a pretty substantial discount,” he said.

Concrete homes aren’t automatically fire proof. Embers can still fly in through vents or windows. Steve Hawks, senior director for wildfire with the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety , said even concrete homes need strong sealing. “The structure is only as good as the weakest link,” Hawks said. “If you only address the siding material and don’t address the window and the vents and the other components, you still leave the home very vulnerable to these significant, intense wildfires.”

‘We Feel Alone’: L.A. Fire Survivors Call For California’s Insurance Commissioner To Resign

Survivors of the deadly Los Angeles County fires, some of whom have been unable to rebuild because their insurance claims have been delayed or denied, are calling for California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to resign. Lara, a former state lawmaker, has one year left in his second term.

A recent New York Times article detailing loopholes the insurance industry could exploit in Lara’s plan to try to improve California insurance availability was the last straw, fire survivors said. They said it proved Lara has helped the insurance industry more than he has helped policyholders.

Members of the grassroots organization Eaton Fire Survivor Network say the recovery process is moving too slowly, in large part because of the insurance process. Paul Fedors is a homeowner in Altadena. “There are denials that are made with no context as to the reason why. They need to be linked back to the claim,” he said. “And it doesn’t seem like the insurance commissioner and the Department of Insurance is really enforcing this and holding the insurance companies accountable. And I think that that just adds to the high level of frustration that the survivors have.”

Lara — who also faces accusations of improper spending of taxpayer dollars on travel — told CalMatters in an interview that he has no plans to resign. “I understand the anger (of fire victims),” Lara said. “I’m frustrated with the pace of recovery that involves multiple agencies, multiple levels of government.” He mentioned the actions he has taken in response, which include the Insurance Department’s June launch of a formal investigation into State Farm over its handling of claims from the L.A.-area fires; a legal action against the FAIR Plan, the state’s fire insurer of last resort; and a bulletin requiring insurance companies to fully investigate and pay smoke damage claims.