Reuters
Jay Gilberg bought a five-bedroom, 4,800-square-foot (446-sq-meter) home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades in June to merge two households, bringing his two daughters, his girlfriend, and her teenager together under one roof in what he described as "a very happy home." Six months later, that home is gone, one of an estimated 5,000 damaged or destroyed in the Palisades Fire. As he and his real estate agent began searching for a temporary home large enough to accommodate a family of five, they encountered another shock -- a sudden spike in rental prices.