Where are we 10 months after the Palisades Fire?
Ten months after the Palisades Fire, a chain-linked fence still locks the entrance of Temescal Gateway Park in Pacific Palisades, marked by a sign that reads, “Park Closed Until Further Notice.” Beside it, another sign advertises a “Pumpkin Patch” and its operating hours.
After an investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) determined that Lachman Fire — which started near the Skull Rock Trail — may have grown into the Palisades Fire. Temescal Gateway Park is the entrance to the Skull Rock Trail.
The Palisades Fire started on Jan. 7 and was not fully contained until Jan. 31. It killed 12 people, destroyed 6,837 structures, and together with the Eaton Fire, became the most destructive fires in Los Angeles history, according to the Los Angeles Regional Fire Safe Council.
One of the hardest-hit was the community of Pacific Palisades, where more than 60% of homes were destroyed or sustained damage, based on data from Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation’s Impact of the 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires and Comparative Study.
A federal grand jury indicted Jonathan Rinderknecht, 29, on federal charges related to the Palisades Fire on Oct. 15. While continued investigations into the cause and handling of the fire are still ongoing, residents are confronting the aftermath of the fire.
Despite dealing with insurance companies, building permits, securing funds and finding contractors, recovery and rebuilding have begun in Pacific Palisades.
On Oct. 14, LAist brought together a panel of experts and decision-makers to discuss the ongoing recovery efforts. During the panel, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Traci Park spoke about the city’s three-year plan, in which the first year focuses on debris removal and the second and third on rebuilding.
Clean-up
According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) website, USACE completed the cleanup months ahead of the original 18-month timeline, with Aug. 26 marked as the final date for private properties cleanup whose owners opted in for debris removal.
With debris removal largely completed, residents now face the task of rebuilding.
Permit
By Oct. 29, 2025, the city of Los Angeles reported “nearly 300 homes are confirmed to have started construction across Pacific Palisades. More than 1,985 plan check applications have been received for over 990 addresses, and over 1,075 rebuilding plans have been approved.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued an executive order to streamline the process. The order reduces administrative steps for review and approval, extends land-use entitlements and provides new guidance on grading and soil reports.
In comparison, Malibu had a more difficult start. During the October panel, the CEO of the general construction firm Design Equity Inc., Abe Roy cited Malibu's slow growth ethos — one not designed for disaster-scale fire rebuilds — as one of the reasons. Roy said, “We've got three permits issued in what is now our 10th month.”
Since then, the city has attempted to improve the situation. On Oct. 30, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported that Malibu accelerated fire rebuild efforts and issued 354 permits for repairs and debris removal. Additionally, the city launched a fee-waiver program, established a one-step rebuilding portal, created a Zone Captain Program and added dedicated case managers.
At the October panel, Traci Park discussed the challenges homeowners face, even with the streamlined permit process. The delay could be added for those who want to expand their house size, or find the specialized expertise, such as grading, to build on the complex terrain of the Pacific Palisades area. Park acknowledged the impact the ongoing immigration raids had on the already strained supply of contractors and laborers.
City Infrastructure
Beyond individual homes, larger efforts are needed to rebuild the city’s infrastructure and support ongoing reconstruction throughout the area.
Park detailed that the Department of Water and Power (DWP) is preparing plans to repair and modernize the electrical system and is committed to putting utilities underground when possible. Park added that, learning from the fire disaster, the city plans to expand water flow capacity, improve evacuation routes and enhance the watershed area.
Park warned of the challenges the community will face over the next two years from the largest construction zone in the city’s history with traffic, noise and disruptions. However, she said, “I am confident that at the end of year three, we are going to see entire streets that are complete or nearly complete with families living in them.”.
With multi-year construction, the return of schools, community centers and commercial corridors, “There is going to be a recognizable, familiar, thriving community that is living in the Palisades at the end of these three years,” Park said.
Insurance
The biggest hurdle for the residents is insurance and insurability. “About 1,600 policies in Pacific Palisades were dropped by State Farm in July 2024,” said California Department of Insurance spokesman Michael Soller to CBS MoneyWatch via email.
In addition to State Farm, Allstate and Farmers were among the private insurers that dropped old policies or stopped writing new policies, forcing homeowners to get coverage through the California FAIR Plan, the insurer of last resort, according to a blog post from the Public Policy Institute of America (PPIC). The California Fair Plan is “generally more expensive and provides lower levels of coverage than regular-market plans,” the blog post states.
The Community Voices: LA Fire Recovery Report by Department of Angels cited that State Farm and the California FAIR Plan, which together cover nearly one in three survivors, had the worst customer satisfaction, with complaints of claim denials, lowball estimates and an arduous itemization process. In contrast, USAA, Mercury and AAA had much higher satisfaction rates, with more than 50% of the people surveyed rating these companies very or somewhat satisfied, according to the LA Fire Recovery Report.
To address some shortfalls of insurance companies, SB 495, authored by State Senator Ben Allen, will take effect in January 2026. The bill requires insurers to pay future wildfire survivors 60% of contents coverage, up to $350,000, without needing an itemized claim. However, the law does not apply retroactively to the Palisades Fire.
Even if survivors received payouts, often the funds fell short of the actual cost of rebuilding. During the October panel, Maryam Zar, founder and president of Palisades Recovery Coalition, said, “Insurance ensures the replacement value of your home, and that changes year after year. So most people will have a gap between what insurance will pay them and what they'll need to rebuild. That gap will likely grow…” She cited modernized building codes, new regulatory requirements and a continuous increase in the price of materials and labor as the cause of the increased cost.
Park added, “The primary issues that are holding people back from making decisions remain questions about insurability, future insurance, and then access to adequate capital to cover the costs to rebuild because so many thousands of people were underinsured and uninsured.”
Rebuilding
For many, the decision to rebuild or leave is difficult and highly personal. While some are weighing their options, others are forging ahead with rebuilding plans.
John Dietsch, a survivor of the Palisades Fire, has chosen to rebuild despite being underinsured. Dietsch said. “When we looked at where we could go and, you know, we loved this place and both my wife and I are long-time residents. We were born and raised in this area. And we want to stay.”
As the anniversary of the fire approaches, new growth is appearing everywhere near Skull Rock, with only some blackened tree branches remaining. The trail remains closed; however, nearby Will Rogers State Historic Park reopened on Nov. 8, 10 months after the fire. Billionaire businessman and owner of Palisades Village, Rick Caruso, announced that Palisades Village will reopen in 2026.
Dietsch said, “I'm at a point where I recognize the Palisades will never be the way that it was. It's just gonna look different, and it's gonna feel different, but it's still a beautiful place. “
“I think that the silver lining of this whole thing is that there's a resiliency in a community feeling that I've never experienced before in the Palisades. And those people who do stay are going to be really vigilant about being a Palisadian. There's a lot of people who are leaving. And those people are not leaving and you make a choice to be a Palisadian in this new generation, committing to this rebuild or not.”