After visiting the devastation of the Eaton fire on Thursday morning, March 6, with the supervisor of the County of Los Angeles, Kathryn Barger, Scott Turner, the new secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, did not retain his reflections on what he had just seen.
“I am not ashamed to say that my heart is broken to see that families have crossed this devastation, to see that the children have crossed this devastation. It saddens me, “he said at a press conference outside Fair Oaks Burger in Altadena.
“What encourages me is to see people come together … Ideat and strategies together, asking difficult questions,” he said. “How can we rebuild?” How can we rehabilitate? How can we collect our life?
Turtadena’s visit to Altadena has come while the city tired by fire has marked two months since January 7, when the gigantic fire has torn a large part of the city, resulting in at least 17 deaths, as well as the destruction of around 7,000 structures more than 14,000 acres.
Houses. Schools. Worship houses. Business – Reduced in rubble in the tireless and tireless path of the Monster Blaze wind.
Speaking before a backdrop of these rubble, in the parking lot of an emblematic local restaurant which provided free food to workers and emergency staff, Turner said that his department will remain focused on “serving the most vulnerable”, despite discussions on extensive personnel cutting his agency in Washington, DC, DC “
Just before his tour, HUD announced an extension of 90 days of her foreclosure moratorium on the unified mortgages provided by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in the areas of the County of Los Angeles devastated by the forest fires of January 2025.
The moratorium prohibits mortgage agents for foreclosure actions on mortgages with unified or home transmission or at home provided by the FHA in the County of Los Angeles until July 7, 2025. The moratorium was originally to expire on April 8, 2025.
Barger said his team is trying to help owners who face financial problems to get grants to help them rebuild.
“This is something on which we are going to work … at the local level, through many philanthropic organizations to see if there will be subsidies for families so that they can better resume,” she said.
Barger called HUD extension on the moratorium as a “rescue buoy” to people who “face immense difficulties”.
“Laser focus” in the middle of the imminent cuts
Turner’s visit comes for weeks after his boss, President Donald Trump, visited devastation in the Palisades, where the fire of the Palisades, which also broke out on January 7, consumed nearly 24,000 acres, destroyed nearly 7,000 structures and left 12 dead. Trump was in the Palisades on January 24 and Turner – a former associate pastor and NFL football player – was finally confirmed by the US Senate on February 5.
After a disaster, his agency arrives to provide federal support for additional recovery after agencies such as FEMA and Small Business Administration work to meet immediate needs in a region. A key function of the agency was to finance housing and other support for homeless people across the country.
But Turner’s visit also came while the Trump administration seeks to reduce staff and programs in federal agencies, as identified by the Trump government department, known as Doge and supervised by Elon Musk.
The Associated Press reported at the end of February that it was planned to reduce HUD staff by about half.
More than a dozen programs in the portfolio of the Housing and Urban Development Department would be affected by the loss of some 4,000 detailed positions in the documents obtained by the Associated Press, which raises concerns among the former HUD officials and the defenders of housing who say a skeletal staff could slow down, or even to stall the critical work of the ministry.
HUD representatives said such leaks should not be taken as definitively. The PA reported that the documents, which are not clearly dated but which were disseminated in February, include the total number of recruits, the expected resignations, as well as a “workforce of the 120” projected and a percentage of personnel reduction in individual HUD offices.
But among these potential cuts, there would be aid in the event of a disaster.
The Community Planning and Development Office – which documents offer to reduce its staff by 84% – is HUD’s arm which helps repair houses and infrastructure after natural disasters, administering $ 1.65 billion sent to North Carolina after Hurricane Helene.
He also oversees the initiatives of the homeless and the subsidy of the community development block which surrounds billions of federal dollars to local governments for community development programs, such as libraries or affordable housing.
On Thursday, Turner spoke to the question of these cuts after his visit to the region.
“We make an inventory of each HUD program to make sure that the programs we have carried out the mission we have at HUD … We maximize our budget. We take the inventory of our staff, “he said.
“But understanding … We will continue to be focused on the laser and deliberate on the mission we have,” said Turner, citing the affordability of housing and rampant homelessness, especially in California, as problems. “We want to make sure that HUD is committed, that the administration is engaged, to help families victims of forest fires,” said Turner.
Two months of lessons
Barger, who is indeed the de facto “mayor” of the city not formed in Altadena society, said several lessons that have been learned from reconstruction efforts in the past two months, including how much people have little faith in their government.
“I made a commitment to look hard, because the community relies hard on me,” she said, promising to keep its services on their guards in the process.
“I said to my departments:” If I find that you are part of the problem, then you will find a new job or that you are moving away “, because people expect us to do everything we can,” she said.
In addition to quoting the importance of semantics in the identification of people affected by fire as “survivors” and not “victims”, Barger said that she now sees the importance of educating people on financial predators as soon as possible.
“There are people who are predatory in nature who are trying to take advantage of communities, offering the prize for prizes, knowing that people are vulnerable,” she said.
Barger said the plan and intention were to keep the character of Altadena intact during their reconstruction, noting his vast story with regard to redline.
“It is important for us to protect this story and get away with the lessons learned,” she said.
Turner took note of the courage and resolution he witnessed residents of the region.
“There is no stop,” he said. “There is no attitude of abandonment here. There is no victim attitude here. There is a victorious attitude here, despite the devastation. »»
“I want to encourage everyone to keep this resolution and be unified together and working together,” he said. “The government is a manager, a facilitator, but people working here with leadership, such as the supervisor and others, I believe, will not only strengthen rapid and fast results but also long -term sustainability.”
Turner said he was blessed and humiliated to serve as a secretary of HUD, having faced his own personal challenges.
“I went through difficulties and difficulties in personal life,” he said. “I understand what it means to overcome adversity.”
“As I am here today, I want you to all know that I am with you and that I believe, while we meet in a team, like the American people – and I know that the president would feel and say the same thing – there is nothing that we cannot do,” he said.
Jarret Liotta is an independent writer and photographer based in Los Angeles. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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