Residents of Pacific Palisades have had little chance to congregate since the Palisades fire ripped through their community in January.
But bright and early on Thanksgiving morning, runners could be seen stretching their limbs in front of hollowed-out buildings, while attendees in turkey costumes walked along charred streets, ready for the 11th annual Pacific Palisades Turkey Trot.
“It’s heartwarming to see so many people back here supporting the community after everything that we’ve lost and suffered through this year,” said lifelong Pacific Palisades resident Brian Garrett, whose home burned. “It gives us hope that we can build our town back and get back here.”
The Palisades fire broke out on Jan. 7 and wasn’t fully extinguished until the end of the month. It is considered the third-most-destructive wildfire in California history — 6,800 buildings were destroyed by the flames, 36.5 square miles of the Santa Monica Mountains were scorched and at least 12 people were killed.
Given the state of the neighborhood, David O’Connell, the event’s co-founder, wasn’t sure the holiday run would be taking place this year. But after Labor Day, he started getting calls from sponsors and runners who were eager to participate. About 2,000 people signed up.
“It became apparent that the community really wanted an event to get things back together. This is one of the biggest running days of the year and a lot of these people want to be with their friends and family,” said O’Connell, who also lost his home in the fire and has been living in Century City.
He added, “This is a new course too. I’m not sure what we’re going to do in the future, but for now, we’re here in downtown Pacific Palisades, which, given the circumstances, adds a level of magnitude.”
The course began and ended at Palisades Village Green, a small triangular park in the middle of the downtown area. The runners made their way through the Via de las Olas bluffs, an area largely scorched by the fires. The blocks, once filled with homes, were now vacant lots, either cleared out entirely or still filled with pieces of rubble. There were some surviving homes along the track, but their windows were boarded up, with signs posted to keep out.
The Pacific Palisades, a largely affluent community tucked between Malibu and Santa Monica, was home to more than 21,000 people before the fire. Afterward, many residents were displaced, with many moving to other neighborhoods on the Westside.
Micah and Julie Levin and their two sons, who lost their home, had been renting in Brentwood until recently moving into a different house in the Palisades. While running, the family realized they were going to pass the site of their burned home.
“I was grateful for doing this today, because every time I’ve gone up to the house has been a sad experience,” said Julie Levin, after finishing the race. Now, she added, “I have something different to project onto it — something more lively and happy.”
She says there’s nothing left “but a patch of grass” where they used to live. Their son Merritt added that he could barely tell which lot was theirs because they all looked the same.
“We chose [to live in] the Palisades because of the community’s strength. So the fact that we are all here right now doesn’t surprise me at all,” said Julie Levin. “It is so peaceful here. We miss the peace and quiet. We miss the sunsets and the sunrises. We miss being near the ocean.”
The course passed through a mixture of commercial and residential areas. Along one of the blocks, Ryann Mackston stood on the corner where her parents’ pizzeria, Beach Street Cafe, was before the fire. Her parents had owned the restaurant for about 20 years and both Mackston and her brother worked there as teenagers. She said seeing that many people gathered in the streets took her back to her childhood.
“It almost feels normal — obviously it’s not normal. There’s shattered glass still on the ground and we’re surrounded by rubble,” Mackston said. “But it’s good to have some sense of normalcy in the community and do something that we all used to do.”
In addition to losing the family business, the Mackstons also lost their home and then relocated to Manhattan Beach. The 24-year-old says that no matter where her family moved, they would always come back to the Palisades.
“It’s still a part of us. We are going to rebuild. People are going to move back in when they can, and they’re still a part of this community,” Mackston said. “I want to keep it alive, even if I don’t live here anymore.”
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