Los Angeles wildfire recovery enters second year as frustration mounts

PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – A year later two major wildfires As we mourn across Los Angeles County, the recovery for thousands of families is far from over.

The fires started a few hours apart and burned for about a month, killing 31 people and destroying more than 16,000 buildings across the region. In Pacific Palisades and nearby Malibu, the flames burned for 31 days, burning 37 square miles and destroying more than 6,000 structures, many of them homes. In Altadena, the Eaton Fire alone destroyed more than 9,000 structures.

Today, many survivors are still waiting for permits to rebuild, while others face dirty buildings, displacement and a slow return to normal life.

“I’ve seen silver linings all day,” said Nicole Gyarmathy, who has returned to an area near her old home to replant flowers one year after the fire.

“Anything I can do to help restore life and what was here; if flowers and trees are planted and trash is cleaned up,” said Gyarmathy.

MY HOUSE ALMOST BURNED IN THE PALISADES FIRE. THE SUSPECTED BURNING IS NOT MY ACCUSED

For him, small acts help process loss and give hope to others returning to empty spaces.

“People come here to visit their vacant lots,” he said. “They see that, and it gives them hope that, ‘Oh, yeah, no, we’re not far behind.'”

Across the Palisades, recovery has been uneven. On the anniversary of the fireresidents marked the occasion with protests and memorials, underscoring ongoing anger and frustration.

A protest sign calling for the resignation of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass appears in the grass that has been mowed down one year since the wildfires broke out. (FOX News)

Ken Ehrlich, an environmental lawyer who lost his home in the fire, said he remembers arriving to find the remains of what once was.

“We stood right there at Sunset…screaming and screaming in the middle of our smoking place and only the chimney,” Ehrlich said. “I shouted and said we have to get out of here now.”

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Ehrlich’s place is now set to be built after months of uncertainty. According to a December Los Angeles Times analysis, less than 14 percent of destroyed homes in the Palisades have received rebuilding permits. Even some houses that are still standing are unlivable because of smoke, ash and asbestos.

A sandbag has been placed on a construction site as homeowners begin rebuilding in Pacific Palisades. (FOX News)

“The threat is real… it’s a big problem,” Ehrlich said. “I mean, people are dealing with it everywhere.”

Nevertheless, a piece of heavy machinery now sits in its place, a sign that reconstruction is underway.

“I’m very excited to move forward with construction,” Ehrlich said. “I want to go back to the neighborhood. This is us, and I don’t want to go anywhere else.”

“My hope is here,” he added. “My hope is that I want to go back home, I want my family to come back, look to the future, and I really want the Palisades to come back better and stronger than before.”

Across the county in Altadena, the Eaton Fire took place under extreme conditions. Crews were already stretched thin fighting the Palisades fire when 90-mile-per-hour winds grounded aircraft and caused the fire to spread.

Brian Childs stands on his removed site this week, where no house and rubble remain… just the land, silent and waiting.

“Just seeing it, it’s black smoke going about 100 miles an hour and flames all around you,” Childs said the night the fire started.

His house lasted almost the entire night before he suddenly left.

“I sat down on the other side of the road for about 15 minutes, I called my wife and said, she’s gone,” said Childs. “And you’re upset.”

ONE YEAR AFTER LA FIRES, CALIFORNIA HAS NOT LEARNED ITS LESSON.

According to city and state data, only 10 homes have been rebuilt in Altadena so far. The children hope his will follow. His plans are complete, and permits are moving forward.

“This is part of my family’s legacy,” he said. “I want to be able to leave this to my children, and hopefully their children.”

Although not everyone in Altadena has that option. Many of those who lost their homes were tenants, and some were evicted a year later.

“The need for housing is still important, very urgent,” said Palin Ngaotheppitak. “We still see requests every day, from people living in their cars a year after the fire.”

Beacon Housing, a local nonprofit, builds long-term housing for low-income fire survivors.

Ngaotheppiak fled the fire with her children last year and is still waiting for progress in her home, but says helping others is important for the community to recover.

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“I think it’s very important in a place like Altadena where the community ties are very strong,” she said. “We really look out for our neighbors here. We are together.”