Los Angeles ——As a firefighter continue their progress As deadly wildfires spread across the Los Angeles area, a new crisis is emerging.
Wildfires have destroyed more than 12,000 buildings, exacerbating Southern California's already severe housing shortage.
Aurielle Hall, a single mother of 12-year-old daughter Jade, said she hasn't even had time to grieve the loss of her Altadena duplex in the Eaton fire.
"I can't afford it," Hall said.
The monthly rent for Hall's now-burned duplex was more than $1,000 below market value.
"Knowing the challenges I'm going to face, we're not going to live in a safe area and we're not going to live in a place with grass," Hall said.
The two have a short-term home in Hermosa Beach provided by the local nonprofit Noah's Foundation.
Hall says her income will make finding work a challenge affordable Meeting the needs of her family. a report from last year established Los Angeles is one of the least affordable major cities in the world. According to the latest data from Zillow, the median monthly rent in Los Angeles is $2,798, which is 40% higher than the national median.
"I'm making $3,700 a month and the average income for a two-bedroom is $2,500, $2,800, which is unrealistic," Hall explained.
As the smoke cleared, the scale of the damage came into focus. Even before the fires, Los Angeles would need to build 450,000 affordable housing units by 2029 to meet demand, according to Los Angeles County data. It takes an average of four years to build a new apartment building.
CBS News drives with real estate agent Robin Walpert to her neighborhood in Pacific Palisades, her first home since the Palisades fire Take a drive to see her neighborhood.
"This is a housing crisis on top of a housing crisis," said Wolpert, whose home was not destroyed in the fire.
She believes the city's resources at their limits.
“We’re at capacity right now,” Wolpert said. "To use that word, it's overcrowded, understocked, it's crazy."
Meanwhile, Hall is determined to find a new home.
“I was homeless before,” Hall said. "So, I swore to myself: I would never be in this situation again. So we were just desperately trying to find permanent housing."
