The Brief

More than half a year after January’s fires, utilities are slowly moving forward on their plans to put power lines underground.

Along the coast and in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, the details for the plans are lacking — and in the case of the Palisades, yet to be developed.

As survivors start filing the paperwork to rebuild their homes, they worry they’re putting the cart before the horse.

In Altadena, many fire survivors are asking — is the Southern California Edison work to bury power lines worth the cost? In Pacific Palisades, where rebuild permits are being approved more quickly, building contractors are wondering — what exactly is the L.A. Department of Water and Power’s plan?

In both areas, successfully putting power lines underground will require buy-in from neighbors on each block. If there’s one holdout, it can render an entire undergrounding project unfeasible. These individual homeowners could foot up to $10,000 of the bill, though those costs are still being worked out.

After a flurry of calls to put more power lines underground from community members, local officials and Gov. Gavin Newsom himself, the challenges of actually doing it — including whether people can or are willing to pay for it — are mounting.

Why put lines underground?

The causes of both the Eaton and Palisades fires remain under investigation. The leading theory for the Eaton Fire is that a de-energized transmission line (those big power lines up in the mountains) somehow re-energized and sparked the fire.

The electrical transmission towers above Eaton Canyon in Altadena, where the LA wildfire known as the Eaton Fire originally started.

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Jules Hotz

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CalMatters

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Transmission lines are generally not buried underground because they’re often high above vegetation, are far apart from each other and are far less likely to spark fires. (Though when they do, it can be devastating — equipment on Pacific Gas & Electric transmission lines were found to be the cause of the deadly Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and razed the town of Paradise in Northern California).

In the Palisades, the leading theory is that a previous fire possibly reignited with the winds.

But in both areas, there’s evidence that downed distribution power lines — the lines that actually connect to our homes — sparked additional fires.

In Altadena, radio traffic shows how downed lines sparked new fires after Edison did not shut off power. In Pacific Palisades, a lawsuit representing more than 3,300 families alleges evidence of DWP downed power poles worsening the fires.

Snapped LADWP power poles and downed lines stand on a hill in the Palisades Fire burn scar. The image is from a lawsuit alleging high winds snapped the poles, leading to additional fires from the downed power lines.

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Screenshot from Grigsby et al. lawsuit against LADWP

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Putting distribution lines underground can almost completely reduce the risk of those lines sparking fires, as well as improve reliability. But it’s a lot more expensive than other fire-risk-reduction strategies, such as covered conductors or “fast trip” technology, which turns off the power automatically when a fault is detected on a line. Those strategies can reduce fire ignition risk by around 55% to 80%, respectively, and sometimes more, according to studies by utilities and academics.

An example of a covered conductor.

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Courtesy Southern California Edison

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Covered conductors like this one can reduce fire risk significantly, though not as much as burying power lines.

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Courtesy Southern California Edison

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But burying power lines also comes with advantages — the lines are insulated from the environment so they need less maintenance, and it can prevent the need to shut off power during dangerous fire weather (though it can extend outages when they happen since the lines are harder to reach).

Edison’s ratepayers largely have to foot the bill for these fire risk reduction strategies — from tree and vegetation management, to hardening infrastructure. It’s a big reason why electricity bills continue to rise — Edison estimates about 10% of our bills go toward wildfire mitigation.

What goes into the average SoCal Edison electric bill.

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Courtesy Southern California Edison

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How SoCal Edison is putting lines underground

In Altadena, about a mile of the trenching and equipment installation needed to put power lines underground has been completed so far along Sunny Oaks Circle and East Loma Alta Drive, just below the foothills. Many, though not all, of the houses in the area burned in the Eaton Fire. The utility was already planning to put these lines underground before the fire — now the work is being expedited.

Edison will need to secure about 30 easements from homeowners to successfully complete the remaining mile-and-a-half or so of this underground segment, said Shinjini Menon, Edison’s vice president of system planning and engineering.

A newly paved street hides buried power infrastructure at Sunny Oaks Circle and East Loma Drive in Altadena. The box to the right is the transformer. Newly built homes will connect to the cables running through it.

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Securing easements and rights of entry from full blocks of homeowners will be key to finishing all the underground projects, she said. Her team is managing the restoration work.

This part of Altadena is in a designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, which experts say is the ideal place to put power lines underground. About 40 miles of underground lines are planned in Altadena's high-risk zones.

“ We are doing this because it makes sense for the communities and we really need their help collectively to get all the easements and permits that we need,” Menon said.

The rest of Edison’s line mileage in the area — about 45 miles — are not in designated high-risk zones. Still, the utility said it plans to bury about 23 miles of those lines "given the amount damage that has happened where there are multiple homes along roads that have to be rebuilt,” Menon said. They're assessing an additional 19 miles for undergrounding in lower fire-risk areas.

Shinjini Menon, SoCal Edison’s vice president of system planning and engineering.

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When it comes to burying power lines, Menon said Edison considers "not only the benefits from the risk reduction from fire, but the long term benefits of, 'Hey, we don't have to trim the trees as much once we are underground. We don't have to inspect as frequently.' There are other benefits that come with it. So looking at the lifecycle view of it and saying, 'Where does it make sense?'”

At the same time, Menon said, the utility is upgrading the system to hold more electricity to deal with higher future demand. She said now is the time to do it, when the cost will be less than normal given the scale of destruction.

Cost worries residents

Edison officials say they have done extensive outreach with officials and community members about their plan to bury power lines, but many residents feel they’re still left in the dark, especially when it comes to how much the work may cost them.

Julian Saucedo and his wife lost their home of 35 years in Altadena. He lived far below the foothills and is still beyond the bounds of newly designated fire-risk areas.

Still, Edison plans to bury the power lines that serve him and his neighbors as soon as the end of this year — and Saucedo’s not happy about it.

“It's been six months and little or nothing from [Edison] in terms of what they're doing in the undergrounding arena,” Saucedo said. “And we are beside ourselves.”

His biggest concern? The cost. In a letter to Newsom in mid-April, Edison Chief Executive Pedro Pizarro wrote it could cost individual homeowners $8,000 to $10,000 to connect to new underground lines, plus fees that may not be waived.

“Finding alternative ways to fund this significant out-of-pocket expense, including through government funds or philanthropic sources, could meaningfully assist customers in their rebuilding efforts,” Pizarro wrote.

Restored overhead power lines in Altadena.

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A spokesperson for Edison told LAist they’re working with L.A. County to secure funding from the state’s office of emergency management, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to offset those costs.

But so far, no word on that additional money. And Saucedo and his neighbors are skeptical that support will ever come through.

Unlike required code upgrades, connecting to underground power lines is not covered by insurance. Saucedo worries the cost could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, the difference for some neighbors between deciding to rebuild or leave.

He called the undergrounding effort by Edison “a money grab,” especially in areas that are not designated high fire risk, even if they burned in the Eaton Fire.

“We're quite a group of neighbors — we are all rallying behind each other,” Saucedo said. “A number of individuals are strongly opposed to undergrounding.”

Saucedo and his neighbors are advocating for homeowners to reject Edison’s right of entry and easement sale requests.

Instead, they’re planning to push for other, cheaper fire suppression methods, such as covered conductors or fast-trip sensors.

“We're worried that everyone's just going to sign these ROEs [rights-of-entry] and then we're all footing the bill,” said Nicole Wirth, an Altadena resident who lost her home and is a captain with grassroots group Altagether.  She said they want more transparency about the costs from Edison. ”We don't have a ton of trust in Edison right now, and we don't have a ton of trust that the county is looking out for us.”

An aerial view of properties cleared of fire debris in Altadena.

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Mario Tama

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Getty Images

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Amanda Riddle, lead attorney for the Eaton Fire lawsuit, said her clients could claim that cost as part of their damages.

“The costs shouldn't be on the ratepayers or homeowners at this point,” she said.

Edison has said they will pay homeowners a $500 stipend for the right of entry, plus whatever they’re owed for the sale of an easement.

“Our preference is to reach an agreement with the property owners,” said Edison spokesperson Gabriela Ornelas. “Delays into getting access to work on properties can slow down the collective effort to build back stronger. We are committed to working with the homeowners.”

Meanwhile, finding an accessible way to identify if their individual properties will be in areas with newly buried power lines has been a challenge for homeowners. Members of Altagether have been piecing details together using Edison’s public list of current undergrounding projects, then searching the names of the circuits in Altadena via this map.

In an FAQ Edison released in June, the utility said it is “developing a public ArcGIS map to show planned undergrounding areas.”

Putting the cart before the horse?

Beyond questions about costs, in Pacific Palisades, builders and residents are wondering why the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is taking so long to develop a specific plan.

“ This plan should be done,” said Reza Akef, who was raised in the Palisades and now builds homes there via his company Metro Capital Builders.

Unlike in Altadena, the goal in the Palisades is to bury 100% of the lines in the neighborhood, which exists entirely in a designated Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.

Before the fires, about 48% of the lines in the Palisades were already underground, said Yamen Nanne,  an assistant program management director with LADWP.

Nanne said the city-owned utility is putting together more specific plans that will be released at a town hall Aug. 27.

Part of the delay has been coordinating with telecommunications companies, who jointly own poles with LADWP but will have to foot the bill themselves to go underground with the utility.

“ Initially, we did get some concerns from the telecommunication companies about the costs associated with that,” said David Hanson, senior assistant general manager for LADWP’s power system at a July 2 town hall. “But we have had further meetings with the telecom companies and we're making some accommodations for them. So I feel confident that we're moving forward with both electrical and telecommunication underground.”

Power poles in Pacific Palisades. LADWP has largely restored its overhead system already.

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Burying lines will not be required in the Palisades — it will only happen if each neighborhood block agrees to it together.

“There's no mechanism for us to come in and essentially force folks to go underground,” Hanson said. “We want to provide the option, and if they don't want to take the option, it's fine with us. We'll harden your overhead system with another wildfire mitigation technique.”

Like Edison, DWP is also upgrading how much power the system can handle in the process. They’re doing that by expanding their station on Sunset Boulevard, where power lines are being put underground.

This will be the new “backbone” of the neighborhood’s upgraded electric system, a spokesperson for the utility said, and will allow the utility to abandon a plan for another distribution center near Marquez Elementary School, which had long faced resistance from the community.

The increased voltage LADWP is building into this system is another reason for delays.

LADWP is burying power line on Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades.

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“Since this is a new voltage not currently used anywhere else in LADWP service territory, special attention and consideration is being taken to ensure the system will be reliable for the homeowners and safe for our crews and inspectors constructing and operating the system,” said Mia Rose Wong, a spokesperson for the utility.

Hanson said that even without the specific plans yet in public hands, as long as homeowners who are rebuilding install an electrical panel that supports both underground and overhead electric service, they’ll be able to be hooked up to the underground system when LADWP gets to them.

Restored overhead power lines in Pacific Palisades.

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Contractors are skeptical.

“That is so far from the truth  of what it takes to underground power in Los Angeles,” Akef said.

He pointed out that when connecting to underground power, homeowners need to hire an electrical engineer who can provide more detailed plans to the city on their power needs beyond that electrical panel upgrade, such as how many amps are needed and the size and number of the conduit lines. Inspections from LADWP are required every step of the way, Akef said.

He worries that for those already rebuilding, it could cost them later if they get too far ahead of LADWP.

 ”Imagine those people who are building right now,  for example, like if you finish your hardscape or your driveway,  you would have to tear that all down,” Akef said. “You’d have to trench down three feet for this conduit and take it to the property line.”

Justin Skaggs, a utility consultant who specializes in overhead to underground conversion for power lines, said the “logistical puzzle” of burying lines in a timely manner in concert with homes being rebuilt requires more coordination with contractors and homeowners than is currently happening.

“Everyone's going to be on different timelines, so it's very difficult for anyone to be able to really logistically plan,” Skaggs said. “ It's going to be very challenging to coordinate. That's probably one of the biggest hurdles other than the funding.”

For California’s local governments hoping to have some say over where and how large apartment buildings get packed near major transit stops, it’s crunch time.

Last fall, state lawmakers made it legal for developers to build mid-rises — some as tall as nine stories — in major metro neighborhoods near train, subway and certain dedicated bus stops.

But the final version of Senate Bill 79, which goes into effect on July 1, offered local governments plenty of wiggle room over the where, when and how of the new law.

With the summer deadline rapidly approaching, cities across the state are starting to wiggle.

Like a statewide game of Choose Your Own Adventure, local elected officials for the San Francisco Bay Area to Los Angeles to San Diego are exploring ways to either lean into the spirit of the law, come up with their own plan tailored to the city’s whims and needs, or slow the local roll out for as long as possible while considering their options. Those that do nothing will be forced to accept the transit-oriented rezoning prescribed by state legislators.

Los Angeles opted for a strategy of maximum delay last month when the city council voted to overhaul a portion of its zoning map in order to buy itself a few more years of planning time.

The move took advantage of a set of escape clauses written into the state law: Transit-adjacent areas that already allow at least half of the housing required under SB 79 can hold off on changing the rules until a year after the next state-mandated planning period.

For Los Angeles and much of Southern California that’s 2030.

Likewise, many lower income neighborhoods, those at risk of wildfire and sea-level rise or sites listed on a historic preservation registry also qualify for that temporary delay.

L.A.’s city council mashed every pause button it could.

Along with temporarily exempting zoning changes in poorer neighborhoods, known fire zones and historic districts, the council preemptively voted to allow modest multiplex buildings as tall as three or four stories in dozens of higher-income neighborhoods currently restricted to single family homes. That will bring those areas up above the cut-off needed for the four-year reprieve, according to the city’s planning staff.

By swallowing a little more allowable density in the short term, the city was able to ward off a whole lot more — for now. Backers of the measure said that will give the city more time to come up with a better alternative that still complies with the law.

The vote “adds meaningful housing capacity now and gives us time to decide where the rest of density should go within our own communities,” Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky said before the vote.

When 2030 arrives, the city will either have to come up with its own plan that meets the overall density requirements of the state law — but with some allowable flexibility over where all the potential growth goes — or belatedly accept SB 79 whole cloth.

The L.A. vote came as a disappointment to many pro-development advocates, who have called upon city officials to speedily accept the state-imposed densification immediately, or barring that, to take more aggressive steps in the meantime.

“We’re pretty concerned that this is not actually going to produce housing,” said Scott Epstein, policy and research director with Abundant Housing Los Angeles, a “Yes In My Backyard” oriented advocacy group.

He noted that smaller apartment buildings are less likely to be financially feasible in areas where land costs are exceptionally high. The city’s ordinance achieves its increase in allowable density by permitting modest apartment buildings in relatively affluent neighborhoods.

But even some of the state law’s fiercest defenders see a silver lining in the city’s delay tactic.

“On the one hand, it’s disappointing because we're delaying the full potential of the law,” said Aaron Eckhouse, local policy programs director for California YIMBY, one of the sponsors of SB 79. But in Los Angeles, he noted, city officials have long been fiercely resistant to proposed zoning changes in neighborhoods dominated by single-family homes.

Now Los Angeles council members are effectively saying, “‘okay, we will do this on our terms rather than on the state’s terms,’” said Eckhouse. “But it is still happening, because the state forced the issue.”

How can cities go their own way?

The Los Angeles approach mirrors one being pursued by officials in San Francisco. There officials are considering a policy of exempting industrial areas and many of the city’s low-resource neighborhoods, while preemptively pushing up the allowable density on certain low-rise locations to get them over the 50% threshold and qualify for a delay until 2032.

But unlike Los Angeles, San Francisco doesn’t plan to spend years coming up with a bespoke local alternative. Instead, the city is proposing to roll out its own version before July 1. That task was made a bit easier given that local officials just wrapped up a citywide densification effort last year as part of Mayor Daniel Lurie’s “Family Zoning Plan.”

The current proposal is set to be heard by a Board of Supervisors subcommittee later this month.

For cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco that decide to come up with their own local plans, they will still need to get the approval of state housing regulators. Officials from California’s Housing Department have yet to publicly weigh in on any individual city’s plans. But their boss has. In a handful of social media posts, Gov. Gavin Newsom has lambasted Los Angeles and San Diego for their proposed efforts to shield certain portions of their city from the requirements of the law. Newsom did not suggest that either city was violating the law itself.

Some cities may simply decide not to bother. Sacramento, for example, will soon consider an ordinance that would make modest tweaks to the way it accepts development applications subject to the state law, but otherwise leaves the state-set zoning rules intact.

Other municipalities, with smaller budgets and fewer professional planners on staff, may not have much choice but to accept the requirements of the state law, said Jason Rhine, a lobbyist with the League of California Cities, which opposed the bill when it was working its way through the Legislature.

Rhine said that some cities are still scrambling to understand the basics of the statute, such as how it applies to future transit infrastructure or how the law defines distance from a transit stop.

“If you’re a planner trying to come up with an alternative plan authorized by (the law), you don't have the information needed to even get started,” said Rhine. He said he is urging state lawmakers to consider extending the July 1 deadline. No one has taken him up on the idea yet.

‘A matter of urgency’

In Oakland, the decision over whether to delay or accept the state upzoning has played out at the neighborhood level.

Last month, the city’s planning staff proposed an ordinance to take the full suite of possible delays in order to buy time and develop an alternative plan. This, city staff stressed, was not about opposition to the goals of state law, but about a preference among local planners to reconsider the city’s plan comprehensively and at all once, rather than in fits and starts.

“It’s no dispute over outcome,” Oakland Planning Director William Gilchrist told the council. “I think it really comes down to a question of when and how.”

Even so, three city council members objected, arguing, in effect, that they would like the state’s override in their districts now, thank you very much.

Zac Unger, who represents some of the city’s more affluent neighborhoods in North Oakland, argued that parcels that have already achieved the 50% density threshold should not be exempt in his district, especially because the bulk of them are located along busy commercial corridors.

Change is coming, one way or another, he argued at council. “I am arguing for, in a sense, coming to grips with that reality right now rather than spending a year providing people with the false idea that we can somehow exempt ourselves from state law.”

Two other members — Charlene Wang and Ken Houston — who represent some of the low-resource neighborhoods entitled to delay, also wanted to adopt the law in their districts now. “In an urban area like Oakland we should be far exceeding the density minimums in (state law),” said Wang.

In a follow-up interview, Unger noted that the debate in Oakland may be more symbolic than it is in other cities. By happenstance, city planners have been working for years toward an overhaul of the city’s zoning map, which they aim to wrap up next year. In other words, Oakland is likely to have an alternative plan that complies with the state law’s requirements by 2027 anyway.

“If we implement SB 79 on July 1 of this year instead of July 1 of next year, there won’t be buildings blowing up from the street,” he said. “It’s just a matter of urgency — and a statement of values.”

Aside from those cities that are racing to embrace the state law and those seeking delay or their own versions, there is another possible category: Those that resist the law entirely.

After California lawmakers passed a law in 2021 allowing homeowners to split up their properties into as many as four separate units, density-averse cities pushed back. Some took the state to court, others explored adopting municipal charters, one flirted with the idea of becoming a mountain lion refuge. None of the measures ultimately succeeded.

If SB 79 is met with a similar array of resistance, we aren’t likely to see that until after the July 1 deadline, said Eckhouse with California YIMBY.

“The reason to do something now is either to lean into it or to use the provisions of the law for flexibility and deferrals,” he said. “But if they just want to stand in the door and say ‘no,’ we might not find out about that until the zoning standards go into effect.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

MacArthur Park will briefly look different this summer.

City officials and community groups are planning a two-day event for a FIFA World Cup watch party in July. The events will close a part of Wilshire Boulevard that passes through the park and turn the street into a pedestrian space.

For some residents, that change can’t come soon enough.

“I support this idea because right now kids aren’t really able to play in this area,” said Palea Hernandez, a Westlake resident and mother of three young children. “It’s not safe and clean enough for them.”

The events, scheduled for July 10 and 11, will coincide with the playoff matches. The teams have not been determined yet. Organized by Council District 1, the events will include food vendors, a large screen to view the games, and family activities.

Organizers say the goal is not just to celebrate the tournament, but to give residents a preview of what MacArthur Park could become.

The concept mirrors the proposed Reconnecting MacArthur Park project, which would permanently close the stretch of Wilshire that cuts through the park and unify its north and south sides into one continuous green space.

“They do plan to close Wilshire Boulevard between the parks to be showing the World Cup,” said Diana Alfaro of Central City Neighborhood Partners. “So that is something that’s basically the same as reconnecting MacArthur Park.”

More than 60% of surveyed residents support removing the roadway, according to preliminary findings from that study.

The World Cup events will offer a temporary version of that idea.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation plans to release a report on their outreach into the community and an evaluation on alternatives to reconnecting Wilshire Boulevard. The open streets event in the summer will preview potential changes to the area.

Organizers plan to model the event after open-street initiatives like CicLAvia, using a road closure to create space for pedestrians. Chelsea Lucktenberg, a spokesperson for Council District 1, said there will also be community organizations tabling with resources, including on where to get grocery and rental assistance. 

“We’re also looking to have activities and fun. Maybe a soccer clinic and other pop-up workshops,” she said.

The office is still finalizing details, but outreach to local vendors and businesses is expected to begin in May.

Lucktenberg said a similar event had been planned for last June but was canceled due to safety concerns during a period of heightened immigration enforcement activity in the area.

Not everyone is convinced the event alone will make a difference.

“If I’m being honest, I hate LA. I don’t like this place,” said Alex Valenzuela, who was born in Westlake and visits the area periodically when he has business at the Mexican consulate nearby. “The park is nice, but I just don’t like the fact that everywhere you see, there are homeless people, people smoking, people on drugs.”

Concerns about homelessness and drug activity came up repeatedly in interviews with residents and workers near the park.

Fernando Rodriguez, owner of Variedades A and K, where he does money transfers and sells vitamins and other household supplies, supports the idea as long as it does not disrupt access for workers. 

He believes kids could benefit from closing down Wilshire and opening it up for activities, but that the city needs to address homelessness in the area.

“Every day it’s packed with homeless people. The kids come to play in the park, but I’ve seen the homelessness and drugs,” he said. “Even if they close down to provide activities for kids, it’s not going to be safe for them if all the homeless are still here.”

Jonathan Santos, a leasing agent inside the MacArthur Park swap meet, said he would support the plan if it leads to visible improvements.

MacArthur Park will briefly look different this summer.

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“I would support this if it gets rid of the homelessness. I’m sick and tired of it,” Santos said. “I think closing down this street might be the beginning of something.”

Santos, who grew up in the neighborhood, said he no longer feels comfortable bringing his children to the park.

“My kids do not like it here … No way I would let them come here to play at MacArthur Park,” he said.

Others said more activity could help shift the feel of the park, even if temporarily.

“I feel like it will take a lot of homeless people away if they see a lot of people in the area with little kids,” said Erica Garcia, a local resident and mother. “I’ve been living here for two years now and I don’t bring my kid out here because it’s not safe.”

Garcia said she would be open to bringing her baby out to the park in July to experience the World Cup activation if there are extra security guards and police patrolling the area.

Outreach to local vendors and businesses is expected to begin in May as organizers finalize plans for the July event. Lucktenberg said residents can also expect to hear more about the events starting in May. The viewing parties at the park are just some of several that will be hosted across the city, including a block party at Liberty Park in Koreatown.

Neither of those parties are officially sanctioned by FIFA, who are planning to host their own events at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

The post FIFA World Cup events to close Wilshire through MacArthur Park for two days in July appeared first on LA Local.

Early spring means the return of warm weather and … taxes. On a recent weekend, Dan and Glynna Courter were enjoying the sun with friends over a picnic of blueberries and Cheez-Its at Birmingham's Railroad Park.

When the topic moved to how they're feeling about their tax refunds, nearly everyone at the gathering responded with a chorus of lukewarm just fines.

The lack of enthusiasm was surprising considering everyone on the picnic blanket received sizable refunds, including about $10,000 for the Courters combined. But Glynna thinks their refund wasn't that much different from last year. The couple withhold the maximum taxes from their paychecks, which helps them avoid the risk of owing taxes and leads to a bigger refund.

"We might go to a nice restaurant," Dan added, after Glynna said they'd use the refund for savings.

This is not the vibe Republican lawmakers were planning for this tax season. The White House had already declared this the "largest tax refund season in U.S. history," and so far it's on track to be, due to the Republicans' signature tax and spending law, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The White House projected the average refund "to rise by $1,000 or more this year."

But that extra refund bump has fallen short of that projection.

So far, the average refund has totaled about $350 more than last year. By early April, the average tax refund sat at $3,462, which is 11.1% higher than the same point last year, according to the IRS.

And Americans appear to be shrugging their shoulders at the tax changes. A recent survey by the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington think tank advising on federal policy, found 62% of respondents either thought the tax changes harmed them or made no difference. Even among Republicans, only 35% said the changes favored them.

"There's a bit of a disappointment in how much those refunds are," said Tom O'Saben, the director of tax content and government relations at the National Association of Tax Professionals. "People are quietly, perhaps, happy but not to the extent where I would call it significant."

Americans who owe taxes could be seeing a bigger slice of the savings

One possible explanation for the lower refunds is that the benefits from the tax law changes could be showing up more for Americans who don't receive refunds, but owe taxes. The IRS data on tax refunds this season does not factor in how much less Americans owed compared to last year.

"The evidence is stronger that more tax relief is relatively flowing to those who otherwise would owe when they file," said Don Schneider, deputy head of U.S. policy at the investment bank Piper Sandler.

But Schneider points out that owing less money is harder to notice than getting cash in hand.

"Getting it in a refund is probably more impactful, more easy to understand than having a reduction in what you otherwise would owe," Schneider said.

Higher-income procrastinators still have to file

Wealthier filers so far seem to have received larger benefits from the tax changes.

"Higher income taxpayers are much more likely than lower income taxpayers to report significantly higher refunds this year," said Andrew Lautz, director of tax policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

That's due in part to the increase in the SALT, or state and local tax, deduction cap raised by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Filers can now deduct up to $40,000 for property, sales and income taxes paid to state and local governments. The deduction primarily goes to wealthier Americans who own homes with big mortgage payments.

Since they traditionally are more likely to procrastinate sending in their returns, that could cause this year's average tax refund to grow later on, but likely still fall short of the additional $1,000 mark, Lautz said. "It is unlikely that we will see that kind of boost by the end of this."

Refunds are getting eaten up by higher gas prices

Part of the tepid response to refunds could be related to the extra cash Americans are spending at the pump.

The war with Iran has brought the average price for a gallon of regular in the U.S. well above $4. Data from the Bank of America Institute and PNC shows consumers have continued spending on gas, and depending on how long gas prices stay elevated, all of the benefits Americans received from the 2025 tax and spending bill could go solely to staying fueled up.

"The tax refund season might be very good, but it's also being offset by this price in gasoline," said Michael Pearce, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics.

Bob Jones, a retiree in Birmingham, is satisfied with his refund. He benefited from an extra deduction of $6,000 for a lot of seniors 65 and up. But the war with Iran has him worried about what that means for the price of gas, so he's put it all in savings.

"You need the savings simply for gas," Jones said.

Copyright 2026 NPR

Updated April 15, 2026 at 11:21 AM ET

The U.S. military said it had "completely halted" all commercial trade moving in and out of Iran's ports, less than 36 hours after imposing a naval blockade.

The announcement comes after President Trump ordered the U.S. Navy to enforce a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following U.S.-Iran peace talks in Islamabad over the weekend that ended without any agreement.

But on Tuesday, Trump told the New York Post a second round of direct talks could resume in Islamabad within two days.

In a Wednesday morning interview with Fox Business, Trump said the war with Iran was "very close" to ending.

"I view it as very close to being over," Trump told anchor Maria Bartiromo.

Trump has repeatedly suggested the war is nearing an end without offering a clear timeline.

The latest developments came as the International Monetary Fund warned Tuesday that the global economy could be heading toward a recession triggered by the war.

A girl plays with a bubble blower at an unofficial camp for displaced people in Beirut's waterfront area on Tuesday.

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Here are more updates from the region:

U.S. blockade | Peace talks | Recession fears | Israel-Hezbollah fighting

U.S. military says it has blocked Iranian ports

A top U.S. military commander said U.S. forces have imposed a blockade of Iranian ports and have established "maritime superiority" in the Middle East.

"In less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented, U.S. forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea," Adm. Bradley Cooper, the commander of U.S. Central Command, which oversees Middle East operations, said in a statement shared online early Wednesday local time. He suggested the U.S. blockade brought to a halt Iran's economy, which relies on international trade by sea.

The U.S. blockade of Iranian ports entered into force on Monday following face-to-face negotiations between U.S. and Iranian officials in Islamabad to end the war. According to Trump, the meeting failed to achieve a breakthrough over Iran's insistence to continue its nuclear program.

A ship is seen off the coast of Ras al-Khaimah, the day after the failure of US-Iran peace talks on Monday.

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The blockade is seen as a tactic to pressure Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, where nearly 20% of the global supply of oil and gas normally moves. It's also a key passageway for other goods such as fertilizer, aluminum and helium.

Iran closed the waterway in retaliation to U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28. It has let a small fraction of ships through from countries it considers friendly or neutral in the conflict. An Iranian lawmaker told state media recently that Iran collects $2 million fees from some vessels passing through the strait. Trump called the move "extortion."

The U.S. military said Tuesday 10,000 U.S. service members, more than 100 aircraft and over 12 warships were enforcing the blockade of vessels entering and leaving Iranian ports on the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.

The shipping information firm Lloyd's List said at least one ship, the Rich Starry, a combined chemical and oil tanker, transited the Strait of Hormuz early Tuesday morning local time and then made a U-turn in the Gulf of Oman.

The U.S. military said six merchant vessels "complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around."

Trump says peace talks in Pakistan could resume this week

In an interview with The New York Post on Tuesday, Trump said additional peace talks between the U.S. and Iran "could be happening over the next two days" in Islamabad.

Peace talks in Pakistan's capital over the weekend ended after 21 hours without any agreement.

"You should stay there, really, because something could be happening over the next two days, and we're more inclined to go there," Trump said, referring to Islamabad.

He went on to praise Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, for doing a "great job" in mediating the talks.

"He's fantastic, and therefore it's more likely that we go back there," Trump said.

Pakistan, which holds strong diplomatic relations with both the U.S. and Iran, has emerged as a key mediator in negotiations between the two countries.

Vice President Vance, Washington's lead negotiator, said a major sticking point that led to the breakdown in Saturday's talks was Iran's refusal to commit to abandoning its nuclear ambitions.

"The simple fact is that we need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon, and they will not seek the tools that would enable them to quickly achieve a nuclear weapon," Vance said.

President Trump speaks to the press outside the Oval Office at the White House on Monday.

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However, he left open the possibility an agreement could still be reached, saying: "We leave here with a very simple proposal: a method of understanding that is our final and best offer," adding, "We'll see if the Iranians accept it."

Iran said the two sides had "reached an understanding on a number of issues, but ultimately the talks did not lead to an agreement." Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, a member of the Iranian negotiating team, accused the U.S. delegation of "maximalism, shifting goalposts, and blockade."

Iran, under its 10-point negotiation plan, demanded an end to Israel's attacks against the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah as part of any permanent agreement. Other demands from the Iranian delegation included the release of $6 billion in frozen assets, guarantees around its nuclear program and the right to charge ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

IMF warns global economy at risk of recession

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned Tuesday that the war with Iran could trigger a global recession that would hit the U.K. more than any other G7 country.

In its biannual update, the IMF cut its estimate for U.K. growth this year to 0.8%, down from the 1.3% prediction made in January.

The U.K. imports the majority of its oil and gas from abroad.

The Resolution Foundation, a British think tank, says U.K. households will already be about $500 (£480) worse off this year due to the war.

Britain's finance minister, Rachel Reeves, issued a sharp critique of the U.S.-Iran war on Tuesday, which she called a "folly" with no clear exit plan.

"I feel very frustrated and angry that the U.S. went into this war without a clear exit plan, without a clear idea of what they're trying to achieve," Reeves told the British newspaper The Mirror.

A man fixes the United Arab Emirates' national flag to the roof of his house in Dubai on Tuesday, after a call by the Emirati leaders urging people across the country to hoist the flag as a symbol of unity and pride.

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, meanwhile, told the BBC that U.S. ally countries were going to suffer a "small bit of economic pain," but said it would be worth it to eliminate the threat of Iranian nuclear strikes on Western capitals.

"I wonder what the hit to global GDP would be if a nuclear weapon hit London…I am saying that I am less concerned about short-term forecasts, for long-term security," he said.

Across Europe and beyond, governments have begun implementing emergency fuel tax cuts in response to surging prices.

In Ireland, the government announced more than $589 million (€500 million) in tax cuts on motor fuel over the weekend following a week of protests over high fuel prices, which brought many parts of the country to a standstill.

In Germany, lawmakers unveiled a $1.9 billion (€1.6 billion) fuel price relief plan to help people with the rising costs.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Tuesday said he was suspending the country's federal gas tax until early September.

Fighting between Hezbollah and Israel resumes  after historic Israel-Lebanon talks

Hezbollah and Israel continued to exchange fire on Wednesday, a day after Israel and Lebanon met for direct talks in Washington, the first in more than 30 years, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli troops several times with rockets, artillery strikes and drones and it fired at communities in Israel's north. Israel expanded its military occupation of southern Lebanon, where it said its forces engaged in fierce battle with Hezbollah fighters.

A relative of Hassan Ali Badawi, a paramedic with the Lebanese Red Cross who was killed the previous day in an Israeli airstrike, mourns as the family receives condolences at their home in the Bchamoun area south of Beirut, on Monday.

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The talks came after nearly seven weeks of fighting between the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and Israel in Lebanon. Hezbollah, which is also a major political party that holds seats in the Lebanese parliament, does not support the talks and has called on the Lebanese government to cancel them.

More than 2,100 people have been killed by Israeli strikes, according to Lebanese health officials. Hezbollah has also fired at Israel, killing at least 12 soldiers and two civilians, according to Israeli authorities. Lebanese officials said Israel has demolished more than 40,000 homes in the south, seizing land for what Israel calls a "buffer zone" to keep Hezbollah from firing rockets into northern Israel.

The Lebanese government wants a ceasefire, but Israel said it would not agree to it until Hezbollah disarms, a longstanding Israeli demand, which the Lebanese government has been unable to enforce in the past.

Following the talks on Tuesday, Rubio said the talks were about "bringing a permanent end to 20 or 30 years of Hezbollah's influence in this part of the world."

Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv, Kat Lonsdorf in Beirut, Aya Batrawy in Dubai, Fatima Al-Kassab in London and Rebecca Rosman in Paris contributed to this report.

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