Juan Galicia stood in front of the ruins of his Larchmont home, the burned-out frame of a 1910 Craftsman.
From the front steps, he spoke about what this house had meant to him and his family. For 18 years, this was his home, where his three children grew up, where one of his sons got married in the front yard and a grandchild was born.
On March 8, the house went up in flames after fire spread from an abandoned home on an adjacent lot, said Galicia, a contractor and pastor. Seeing his place in its current state has dampened his spirits but not his determination to rebuild.
“I don’t know how long it’s gonna take me to [rebuild], but I am,” Galicia said.
The issues Galicia is facing in Larchmont are not unique to his neighborhood. Within Los Angeles City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez’s district, which includes Larchmont, the city is keeping track of five to 10 properties that are in similar condition and facing similar problems, said Nick Barnes-Batista, a spokesperson for Soto-Martinez. The lot next to Galicia’s has been on the city’s radar since at least late January, Barnes-Batista said.
Amid California’s housing crisis, any empty lot in a residential neighborhood is an opportunity to add much-needed shelter, either a single family home or an apartment building.
Recently in West Hollywood, a pack of coyotes began occupying an abandoned condominium construction site. In North Hollywood last year, neighbors complained that an empty apartment buildinghad turned into a drug den. It was eventually torn down.
It has not been easy for Galicia. While he’s trying to rebuild, he’s had to fend off transients who trespass onto his property on a regular basis. Meanwhile, he claims the city has done little to keep trespassers out of his home or the neighboring abandoned lot or to help him find the resources to rebuild — claims that the office of Soto-Martinez refuted.
During a tour of the charred remains of his home, Galicia pointed to condom wrappers that lay strewn throughout the house and a box of spent nitrous oxide canisters. The gas is commonly inhaled by people to get high.
In the front yard, a new-looking sleeping bag, which Galicia said was freshly used, lay cast aside.
In an attempt to keep people off of his property, Galicia put up chain-link fencing to separate his home from the abandoned lot.
But he says efforts to keep unwanted visitors out have proved futile, and he sees new evidence of trespassers frequently.
Meanwhile, he said the abandoned lot next door remains unsecured and swamped with trash from transients who frequent the site. Left behind is a charred out refrigerator, bed frames, a worn out and graffiti-covered couch, piles of left-behind clothes and the burnt debris of the home that once stood there.
Galicia has been strapped for cash and his home insurance did not cover the loss of his home.
Staff from the council member’s office said they’d directed Galicia to various city departments for assistance, but he said it’s been to no avail.
Meanwhile, Galicia says he continues to pay mortgage on his ruined property. In the months since the fire, which has displaced several family members, he’s been paying $6,000 in rent on top of his $2,000 mortgage each month — a financial and emotional drain.
“I have loans to pay, I have taxes to pay,” Galicia said.
The fire started on the afternoon of March 8 while Galicia was at Ministerio Esperanza Church in South L.A., where he serves as pastor. The fire began on the abandoned lot which had a single-family home, similar to the one that Galicia lived in. It quickly spread to at least two other properties, including the Galicia home, a Los Angeles Fire Department report said. It took more than eight hours and dozens of firefighters to knock down.
Although no family members were injured in the blaze, two of his dogs were killed, Galicia said, and 10 family members were displaced.
No definitive cause was determined, the LAFD report said. The home on the abandoned lot next door was knocked down after the fire because it was a “public hazard,” according to the report.
The empty lot next to Galicia’s home, plus an adjacent one, were set to be developed into a 22-unit four-story apartment complex, according to documents from the Los Angeles Department of City Planning. The most recent filings for the project were submitted to the city in 2021. The identified developer did not respond to a request for comment about the property or its future.
Galicia, said he returns to his property every evening for a few hours, just to be back home. The place is completely charred, but the framing and rooms remain partially intact.
For now, Galicia said he’s focused on rebuilding his home and plans to do it in a Craftsman style. But he’s unsure how long it will take. Since his home insurance fell short of covering the cost, he will have to pay for much of the project out of pocket.
“I’m in a really serious position,” he said. “I have lost everything.”
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