A Southern California mom says she’s been left effectively homeless for more than a year and a half after her insurer told her to move back into her smoke-damaged home or lose her temporary housing benefits — a gamble she refuses to take with her children’s lives.
The massive Boyle Heights warehouse fire that sent smoke across parts of Southern California last week serves as a reminder of the dangers that linger even after a blaze is extinguished.
For some homeowners in the Palisades and Eaton fire burn zones, smoke contamination still keeps them out of their homes nearly 18 months later.
“Christmas 2024 was a different life, and it’s unbelievable that we haven’t been able to get this home all the way repaired so that we can have 2026 Christmas in this home,” Pacific Palisades homeowner Elissa Ashwood told ABC7.
Ashwood’s family has not been able to return to their home on Lachman Lane, which is named after her grandfather, Benjamin Lachman. Their house was one of the few that survived the Palisades Fire.
“We could tell that it was much worse than any fire that we’ve been through before, because we’ve had multiple fires,” she said.
Ashwood has spent months battling the California FAIR Plan over whether the home is actually safe to live in.
A claims examiner concluded that “The main dwelling appears habitable.”
However, an assessment she ordered found “significant thermal, non-thermal and chemical contamination damage caused by the Palisades Fire that directly impacted this residence.”
Ashwood believes the home needs to be stripped down to the studs before her family can safely return, but she says she has not been able to convince the FAIR Plan to cover the cost of the work.
“We are trying everything that we can to avoid litigation. We shouldn’t have to sue our insurance company,” she said.
In Pasadena, homeowner Frank Lombardi says he’s facing a similar fight with State Farm after the Eaton Fire.
Lombardi has already sued the insurer, alleging it wrongfully denied and underpaid his smoke damage claim. Court filings show State Farm “generally denies each and every allegation” in the lawsuit.
“We have three children, so there’s no way that we want to take any chances,” Lombardi said. “What we think that we should get through our policy is a complete remediation. And what that means is going to the studs.”
His house has been locked in a standstill since January 7, 2025.
State Farm said it “reviews every claim based on the policy terms and the facts of the loss. We work closely with our customers to provide all benefits available under the policy.”
Meanwhile, the California FAIR Plan said it “evaluates every claim on its own merits and pays all covered claims up to the individual policy limits. This includes claims for smoke damage,” per the outlet.
Attorney Dylan Schaffer, who is leading cases against both insurers, said companies are more likely to challenge claims involving homes that still appear intact from the outside.
“They cannot ignore houses that are burned down to the ground. They can’t ignore those. So the ones that they try to save money on are the neighbor whose house looks fine, but is not fine,” Schaffer said.
The California Department of Insurance has also taken legal action against both State Farm and the FAIR Plan, accusing them of failing to fully pay smoke damage claims.
The state’s case alleging that the FAIR Plan illegally denied smoke-damage claims is set to go before a judge next month.