It's difficult for Valerie Burke to look at her children's bedrooms, where the brunt of the fire damage took place. Though firefighters prevented flames from spreading to the rest of the house, there's still water-and smoke damage throughout.
But the Burke family is thankful, because if you look down their street, you'll find houses that didn't stand a chance.
"We're really lucky we have a place to go back to and repair rather than starting from scratch," Michael Burke said.
Rebuilding is an overwhelming process. That's why a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster survivor assistance team is going door to door in the Burke's Malibu West neighborhood. They're looking for survivors who may not know how FEMA can help or the proper steps to take - like making sure to file a claim with insurance before registering for FEMA benefits.
"By law we cannot duplicate benefits so whatever benefits you're receiving from your insurance company you need to use that first we can assist with other needs assistance," said Darrell Habisch, a FEMA employee.
For families like the Burkes, this is a welcome visit during an overwhelming time.
"In the middle of all this pandemonium in our lives it's nice for them to tell us what we can and should be thinking about to get through this," Valerie Burke said.
