Residents affected by the devastating Palisades Fire are taking one of the most significant steps in the recovery process – starting to rebuild their homes – and L.A. city officials say that the pace of the recovery effort is among the fastest for any disaster ever.
A statement from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued Monday — exactly three months after the deadly fire broke out — stated that as of that morning, more than 260 properties had debris completely cleared and were given the final sign-off, which is a required step for building permits to be issued.
By Wednesday morning, 1,681 properties in both the Eaton and Palisades fire zones received the final sign-off, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
In the Palisades Fire area, nearly a thousand properties were cleared of debris by USACE as of Monday. Three schools that were partially destroyed in the blaze had debris completely cleared by USACE by Friday: Palisades Charter High School, Palisades Charter Elementary and Marquez Charter Elementary.
“The Palisades community has shown incredible resilience in the face of unimaginable loss,” Mayor Bass said in the statement. “We’ll continue working around the clock to expedite every aspect of our recovery effort.”
According to the mayor’s office, the pace of the recovery from the January 2025 Southern California wildfires, specifically the Palisades Fire, broke several records:
- Fastest hazmat clearing in EPA history: Phase 1 of debris removal was completed in 28 days (including more than 300 tons of hazardous materials such as exploded lithium-ion batteries), which officials say was months ahead of expectations.
- Historically fast debris removal: Phase 2 of debris removal began 35 days after the fires ignited, which is roughly half the time it took after the 2018 Woolsey Fire. Both the Palisades and Eaton fires burned for 24 days.
- Record timing for utility restoration: Water and power were restored for standing homes in the Palisades in two months. For comparison, it took crews a year and a half to restore drinking water after the 2018 Camp Fire in NorCal.
Also helping to speed up the recovery process are the flurry of emergency executive orders Mayor Bass passed in the wake of the fires, which included ways to expedite the rebuilding process by cutting through legislative red tape.
On Tuesday, Sky5 captured work being done at one cleared property in the Palisades, and crews were out on Wednesday morning too as more and more people finished clearing debris and started rebuilding their homes.
One construction worker, Carlos Torres, said that the property he is now working on is the same one on which he built a house two years ago.
“I’m glad that we are here building the house again because we know the house, we know the process and we’re hoping to get this done between eight months to a year,” Torres, who works for a firm called VIP Construction 1, told KTLA 5’s Annie Rose Ramos on Wednesday morning. “We want to bring the homeowners in, and we want them to be comfortable. We also want to show the community that it’s possible to [build quickly]…so they can have access to their homes as soon as they can.”
He remarked that while the pain homeowners are going through is immense, seeing the beautiful residences he and his crew worked tirelessly to build burn down isn’t easy either.
“When we saw the news, everybody was stuck to the TV and making sure first of all that everyone was safe,” he said. “The next thing is, you’re thinking about all the houses that you built and all the hard work that went into the properties. Everything just disappeared.”
When asked about how he was able to begin the rebuilding process so quickly, Torres recommended that affected residents “stay active” in their pursuit to start construction.
Torres also advised affected residents to have all their information together and be clear with officials on what they want to do.
“The best advice I have is to stay active, ask a lot of questions and reach out to contractors and developers, because they will be the best ones to guide you in the best direction you need to go,” he said. “[Ideally] you want someone with experience around the area who has developed around here before and has access to the city and the permitting process.”
“If you use your existing plans, that will definitely speed up the process; you’ll save about three months,” he added. “If you decide to build with your same footprint, they are allowing you to do that and ten percent more. That will expedite your whole permitting process.”
More information on Palisades Fire recovery can be found here.
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