On the one-year anniversary of the Palisades fireplace, a whole bunch of residents rallied Wednesday in Pacific Palisades to demand accountability from metropolis and state officers over what they described as a preventable wildfire that killed 12 folks and displaced hundreds.
The demonstration, organized by Palisades Hearth Residents Coalition, comes as questions on how the Palisades fireplace started and whether or not it might have been prevented stay a focus of debate and ongoing authorized proceedings, together with a federal arson case tied to an earlier brush fireplace that investigators say might have smoldered earlier than the lethal blaze erupted.
Audio system on the rally — together with Palisades and Altadena fireplace survivors, enterprise homeowners, attorneys concerned in fire-related lawsuits, former Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and Councilmember Traci Park – addressed the gang from a short lived stage set in opposition to the backdrop of a fire-damaged retail constructing, calling for better accountability from authorities businesses.
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With a backdrop of a burned-out constructing, a whole bunch of individuals participate within the “They Let Us Burn” rally in Pacific Palisades on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. They’re demanding accountability on the one-year anniversary of the devastating fires. The occasion was sponsored by the Palisades Hearth Residents Coalition. (Photograph by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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With a backdrop of a burned-out constructing, a whole bunch of individuals participate within the “They Let Us Burn” rally in Pacific Palisades on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. They’re demanding accountability on the one-year anniversary of the devastating fires. The occasion was sponsored by the Palisades Hearth Residents Coalition. (Photograph by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jaimie Geller, a Palisades fireplace survivor and native enterprise proprietor, mentioned the previous 12 months has been outlined not solely by the lack of her house and livelihood, however what she described as a deeper lack of stability.
“Past the lack of our group, our belongings and our revenue, the toughest a part of this grief is the lack of our sense of stability,” she mentioned, including that she believes the hearth was preventable. “That’s the reason we’re all right here in the present day. We’re right here to carry our metropolis, state and federal authorities accountable.”
Geller mentioned the failures uncovered by the hearth lower throughout political strains.
“This isn’t a right-versus-left difficulty. That is about an inherent flaw in our whole authorities,” Geller mentioned. “And we the tax-paying individuals are paying a worth, and so now we’re demanding change.”
Los Angeles Councilmember Traci Park, whose district contains the Pacific Palisades, advised the gang the hearth was the results of systemic breakdown, not an unavoidable catastrophe.
“What occurred on Jan. 7 was a catastrophic failure,” Park mentioned. “To faux in any other case is simply insulting.”
Park argued that the hearth was not an act of nature, however the results of many years of ignored warnings, insufficient infrastructure and flawed evacuation planning. She pointed to what she described as dry hydrants, an empty reservoir and gridlocked evacuation routes, saying firefighters had been “left helpless to struggle fireplace with out water” on the day the techniques had been wanted most.
Some Palisades residents on the rally described ongoing struggles rebuilding their lives.
Annette Alexakis, a Palisades house owner since 1972, whose house and pet-care enterprise had been destroyed, mentioned she remains to be dealing with rising property assessments, insurance coverage disputes and housing instability, including that she has relied on pals and former purchasers for non permanent housing.
“Town got here in and reassessed my property, too excessive, I can’t afford to construct,” she mentioned.
Alexakis added: “I attempted the whole lot, I attempted to construct, I attempted to purchase, which I can’t do anymore as a result of I don’t have my property tax break… After which I went to lease, and I discovered that locations in Santa Monica are affected by all of the smoking clearing and so they’re ready for his or her insurance coverage firm to wash, so we couldn’t even lease.”
Through the rally, scheduled speaker and actuality tv character Spencer Pratt, who misplaced his house within the Palisades fireplace, introduced he’s working for mayor of Los Angeles, drawing a mixture of cheers from the gang.
Rally organizers outlined 10 calls for aimed to ease rebuilding and stopping future disasters, together with eliminating gross sales taxes and allow charges on rebuilding, suspending property taxes till houses obtain certificates of occupancy, granting a five-year ULA tax vacation, restoring a Palisades police presence, undergrounding electrical infrastructure, enhancing evacuation planning and addressing insurance coverage entry and protection.
Whereas rebuilding is underway, progress has been uneven. Though the primary certificates of occupancy have lately been issued within the Palisades and Altadena, many survivors remained in non permanent housing, and a few aged residents have been unable to rebuild.
Questions on accountability persist as a former Uber driver faces federal arson prices in reference to the Palisades fireplace, whereas the reason for the Eaton fireplace stays underneath investigation.
In an announcement Tuesday marking the anniversary, Mayor Karen Bass mentioned the town would honor the 12 lives misplaced and acknowledged ongoing trauma, insurance coverage disputes and delays dealing with residents, whereas emphasizing resilience and long-term restoration.
“Full restoration is a long-term, multi-year effort,” Bass mentioned, including that the town should proceed working with residents and different stakeholders to assist rebuilding.
Gov. Gavin Newsom declared Jan. 7 a statewide day of remembrance for the Los Angeles fires, ordering flags at state buildings to be flown at half-staff and honoring the 31 folks killed within the Palisades and Eaton fires.
Talking to SCNG at a marketing campaign occasion final month about considerations from Palisades residents that rebuilding has moved too slowly, L.A. Metropolis Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson mentioned “regardless of how briskly you go, it’s by no means quick sufficient” for individuals who have misplaced their houses.
He mentioned the Palisades restoration has moved sooner than many wildfire recoveries within the US and overseas, whereas acknowledging there’s nonetheless room for enchancment.
“That’s to not say we will’t do higher. I feel we will,” he mentioned.
