Wave Wire Services
LOS ANGELES — A year after the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires, many survivors are still picking up the pieces from the destruction, while others are mourning the loss of loved ones and most are wondering when — or if — they will be able to rebuild.
The lives of thousands of Southern California residents were thrown into turmoil amid punishing, hurricane-force Santa Ana winds that drove a pair of massive wildfires through heavily populated neighborhoods, killing more than two dozen people and permanently changing the local landscape.
Combined, the fires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena that erupted last Jan. 7, killed at least 31 people, destroyed some 16,000 structures and displaced thousands of residents.
The Palisades Fire killed 12 people in the Pacific Palisades, Malibu and Topanga areas, while the Eaton Fire, in Altadena, claimed 19 lives. Firefighters fully contained the dual blazes on Jan. 31.
Numerous commemorations and tributes were held this year in the devastated communities and throughout the city and county of Los Angeles — with flags flying at half-staff at L.A. City Hall and at all state buildings.
People who lived through the tragedies vividly recall the chaos as the infernos spread. As for the heartbreak that followed, many still speak of that in the present tense.
There are so many stories, so many tears.
Sara Trepanier — a Navy veteran, emergency medicine physician and single mother of four — lost her home in the Palisades Fire. She recalled seeing the fire in the hills and being uncertain of whether she should pack and evacuate. There was no official communication, she recalled.
“In the beginning there were planes dropping water,” she told City News Service. “But at the end, there were no fire trucks. There was just smoke. It was like a ghost town.”
Trepanier eventually evacuated with her kids to Venice. She later relocated with her two daughters to a friend’s house in Orange County, then moved into an apartment in Culver City, and later to Santa Monica, where her girls would be closer to their temporary school. Palisades Charter High School was heavily damaged in the fire as well.
“I cried for six months after that. I could not cope with it. The whole thing was a shock,” Trepanier said.
On top of the emotional loss, the financial consequences still haunt her — like so many others.
“It’s a big financial loss for us,” she said. “You’re still paying the mortgage on the lot, and you’re paying to try to get money for the rebuild, including taking out more loans, disaster loans, and still paying for your house.”
Trepanier said she is on track to have her home rebuilt in May. While she’s looking forward to the rebuild, she feels that the Los Angeles Fire Department and top city officials failed her and Pacific Palisades.
“I don’t think they valued the Palisades. I don’t think they prioritized us,” Trepanier said.
“During the time when the fire occurred, the Methodist Church was still standing after the first night, but they never returned. I mean, where in the U.S. would you let a part of your city burn for three days without intervention? It makes no sense?” Trepanier added.
Trepanier said she will be attending events this week to commemorate the anniversary. She attended a White Glove Flag Presentation and Remembrance Ceremony hosted by the Palisades American Legion Post 283 and Pacific Palisades Long Term Recovery Group.
Jim Cragg, board chair and president of Pali LTRG, encouraged Pacific Palisadians to attend their event and meet members of the group. Pali LTRG is an organization dedicated to identifying and connecting local fire survivors to relief resources.
“I want Palisadians to feel a hug,” Cragg said in a teleconference interview Jan. 5. “We want to put our arms around each other, whether it’s literally or figuratively. I want our children to feel loved and supported. I want our elderly to feel connected.”
Twelve families who lost family members sat in the front row, and behind them were 100 Palisadians working to recover their community. Cragg presented each of the families with an American flag and medallion to honor their loved ones.
Officials said they planted 12 trees for the families — sycamores and oaks — in the area of Temescal Canyon on the morning of Jan. 7.
Pali LTRG invited local representatives to join the event, including City Councilwoman Traci Park, who they say has been a pivotal leader. Park, who represents the Palisades, expressed her gratitude to the organizers, in particular the role that Legion Post 283 has played over the past year.
“This fire took so much more than structures,” Parks said. “It took pieces of your collective history, and those that we lost represented the very spirit of the Palisades,” Park said. “We really do look to the days ahead with hope. We honor those that we lost, not only with words but through action, by committing ourselves to getting this recovery right, to doing it with care and transparency and compassion.”
Pali LTRG itself was created by community leaders with support from the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. A similar group called the Eaton Fire Collaborative LTRG was formed to aid recovery in Altadena, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County near Pasadena.
Pali LTRG works to contact and connect thousands of families with the LTRG program and get them in front of disaster case managers, according to Cragg. He noted the task can be difficult as only one in four families have returned to Pacific Palisades.
“We have people who are making life-changing decisions every day, to buy a new house, to move, to live and take their children and move to a new state,” Cragg said.
“They’re overwhelmed by the government organizations and nonprofits that are there. In my opinion, they’re doing the best they can. Some of them have made a lot of mistakes, and accountability is important, but my role is far beyond that. I have to worry about moving forward.”
Reflecting on the one-year anniversary of the Palisades Fire, Cragg said the area is on the right track toward rebuilding and recovery.
“It’s very difficult to say that to a person who wants to have their home rebuilt in a year,” Cragg said. “We’re ahead of Lahaina, Maui. We’re ahead of Altadena. But that doesn’t bring a lot of solace to a person who’s still living in a rental somewhere and their kids are traumatized and wanting to go back to their old life.”
County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who represents Pacific Palisades and Malibu, affirmed the county will not stop until families are back home and neighborhoods are whole again.
“One year after the fires, I am continually inspired by the extraordinary strength and resilience of our communities, even as so many families are still carrying the weight of loss and uncertainty,” Horvath said in a statement. “Recovery is not a straight line, and while we’ve made real progress — from the fastest cleanup in U.S. history to streamline permitting — residents are still hurting and in need of support.”
In Altadena, events also were held to honor the lives lost in the Eaton Fire and to uplift fire survivors.
Members of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network gathered at The Collaboratory, a business located at 540 W. Woodbury Road. The group presented new data, lived experience testimony, and discussed what money moved in 2025 and what must happen in 2026 to stop displacement of Altadena residents.
“Let me be very clear, families are not failing at recovery. Recovery is failing survivors,” said Joy Chen, executive director of the network and a smoke damage survivor. “We have built a survivor-led community with elected leaders, nonprofit and faith partners, and each other. This community exists for one reason — to make sure that in Los Angeles recovery is not reserved for the wealthy, and to build a future where every Eaton and Palisades fire survivors can get back home.”
County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena, joined fire survivors to mark the anniversary. In a statement, Barger said her message to survivors is straightforward: “I see your pain, I respect your resilience and I remain committed to standing with you for the long road ahead.
“Anniversaries like this reopen wounds, especially for households still navigating insurance disputes and the slow, exhausting process of rebuilding. It is my responsibility to ensure you are not facing those challenges alone,” Barger added.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass kept a low public profile a year after catching widespread criticism when, amid forecasts of those fierce Santa Ana winds, she was in Ghana — part of a presidential delegation for the inauguration of that country’s new leader. She issued a statement Jan. 5 saying she would mark the anniversary at several private vigils.
“There are no words to articulate the unimaginable trauma, grief, and exhaustion felt by the Palisades community — exacerbated by constant headlines along with delays, underpayments, and denials from insurance providers,” Bass said. “This anniversary forces us to face the trauma head-on. As we collectively mourn, the pain remains palpable. But so does something else now: hope and resolve.”
She called for continued partnership across every level of government, and for philanthropic leaders, the insurance industry and the business sector to build on progress made so far. Bass said she remained committed to using the “full force” of her mayoral power to restore Pacific Palisades.
Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state has deployed new firefighting equipment and cutting-edge technology to bolster Los Angeles’ ability to combat wildfires.
“The Los Angeles fires showed us we need to move faster and smarter,” Newsom said in a statement. “We’re streamlining projects that used to take years, deploying new technology to target our efforts where they matter most, and investing record funding in prevention.
“We’re turning hard lessons into concrete actions and delivering results on the ground.”
On Jan. 6, Newsom issued a proclamation declaring Jan. 7 as a day of remembrance for the Los Angeles fires and ordered flags at all state buildings to be flown at half-staff.
