Pre- and Post-Fire Property Values in the Eaton Fire Burn Area

An Evaluation of the Diminution-in-Value Model Used in Southern California Edison's Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program

Lloyd Dixon, Terry L. Schell, Jamie Morikawa, Gabriel W. Hassler, Jason M. Ward, Phoebe Rose Levine

ResearchPublished Oct 24, 2025

Southern California Edison's compensation offers to the owners of destroyed single-family residences are based in part on the difference in property value before and after the fire. In this report, the authors examine the data and methods used to estimate the change in property values, the amount of uncertainty in the estimates, and the circumstances under which the estimates likely over- or underestimate the true change. The authors do not evaluate the accuracy or appropriateness of how the changes in property values are used to formulate settlement offers, nor do the authors assess whether the settlement offers are favorable or unfavorable from the perspective of applicants, other stakeholders, or the public.

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Dixon, Lloyd, Terry L. Schell, Jamie Morikawa, Gabriel W. Hassler, Jason M. Ward, and Phoebe Rose Levine, Pre- and Post-Fire Property Values in the Eaton Fire Burn Area: An Evaluation of the Diminution-in-Value Model Used in Southern California Edison's Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA4357-1.html.
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This work was funded by Southern California Edison and conducted in the Infrastructure and Justice Program of RAND Education, Employment, and Infrastructure.

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