Executive Summary

This research brief analyzes publicly available geospatial datasets from local, state, and federal governments to provide high level insights regarding the locations of manufactured housing communities (MHCs) in Los Angeles County and their relationships to wildfire hazards.

This research brief analyzes our first survey of manufactured housing (MH) residents in three manufactured housing communities (MHCs) impacted by the 2025 Los Angeles Fires. All three were impacted by the Palisades Fire and include Tahitian Terrace, Palisades Bowl, and Malibu Village. The survey was conducted from February to March 2026 with the following aims:

1. To identify the demographics and tenure of MH households prior to the fire

2. To record the experiences of MH residents during wildfire response

3. To catalogue MH resident experiences thus far with wildfire recovery

Our goal was to provide the three MHCs with core descriptive statistics to aid in their recovery. On this axis, we identified six key findings for MH households impacted by the 2025 Palisades Fire:

• Older MHC Population: 81% of respondents are over 60 years old and on fixed incomes. In general, about 86% of MH households are considered “low income” for the area.

• Moving into the Rental Market: The majority of households (76.5%) were forced to move 1-3 times following the fire. They were largely pushed into the short-term rental market (59.8%). Many also anticipate needing to move again in the coming year or two (47.4%).

• Mismatch Between Aid and Assets Lost: An average total assets lost of $1,333,673 was reported per household. However, the total amount of aid and insurance received was $282,696, about 21% of the total assets lost.

• Uncertain Post-Fire Clean-Up: 19% of households report (as of March 2026) that debris remains on their property. 79% of respondents stated the property definitely or probably is contaminated, though 55% are unsure if their property has been tested for pollutants yet.

• Staying Closeby: The median distance households have moved from their MHC is 8.6 miles.

• Uncertain Recovery: 93% of respondents are still unclear whether their landowner will permit rebuilding in their community. By far, the largest worry (75%) facing MH residents is whether their landowner will permit rebuilding at all.

This is the second research brief of our collaborative research project with Neighborhood Partnership Housing Services. The larger project is tracking post-Palisades Fire recovery outcomes for three impacted manufactured housing communities in the Pacific Palisades.