(Bloomberg) — Months after fire tore through Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood, homeowners are struggling to get reimbursed — not for houses reduced to rubble, but for the damage of smoke and toxins in the properties that remain.
For residents such as Keri Homolka, fighting for a payout has become a full-time job. The Jan. 7 blaze caused the window frames of her home to buckle and crack. Paint on the walls bubbled. While the residence was spared from total destruction, its insides were tarnished by ash and soot, residue from the burned-out houses on either side.
The 76-year-old retiree and her husband, who have owned the home since 1999, spent more than $100,000 on testing, cleanup, hotel stays and repairs after discovering elevated lead levels in the dust. Homolka said their insurer, California’s FAIR Plan, has paid just $15,000 of their claim.
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