The challenge of post-fire recovery is one faced by communities around the world. Terms like “build back better” and “managed retreat” are often heard, but what do they mean for people complex making decisions on the ground?

Roosevelt Banks’s home in Altadena, Calif., was destroyed by the California wildfires. Nearly two months later, he’s still awaiting answers from his insurer and living week to week in hotels.

As California struggles to defend itself against increasingly destructive urban wildfires, recent fire deaths in Altadena highlight ... One of Curry’s neighbors, Ana Morales, 34, faults ...

One, near Los Angeles, has been accused of sparking January’s Eaton Fire, which leveled the community of Altadena and killed 17 people. Another, in Northern California Wine Country, triggered a 2019 blaze that destroyed more than 370 structures.