The Eaton Fire devastated neighborhoods in Altadena, California. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post) By Brianna Sacks and Reis Thebault

ALTADENA, Calif. — Hugo Dalinger knew he couldn’t go back. Not after a wall of flames swallowed his bright-white Altadena home during the January firestorm that took out most of his town. But he needed money to start over, so he reached out to a friend and veteran real estate agent for help.

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