An empty home lot overlooking the Pacific after the fires, one of 16,000 homes destroyed. Challenges to rebuilding are stiff: labor shortages, tariff-induced cost spikes, lower-than-expected insurance payouts, and slow-moving bureaucracies.

An empty home lot overlooking the Pacific after the fires, one of 16,000 homes destroyed. Challenges to rebuilding are stiff: labor shortages, tariff-induced cost spikes, lower-than-expected insurance payouts, and slow-moving bureaucracies.