Protests planned for Palisades Fire anniversary by furious residents

Nearly a year after the Palisades Fire tore through one of Los Angeles’ most tight-knit coastal communities, the flames are out — but the fallout still burns.

Residents remain displaced, still paying rent and mortgages and tangled in red tape.

Now, they’re marking the anniversary with grief — and a blunt demand for answers.

That’s why hundreds — and potentially more than a thousand — residents are converging for the “They Let Us Burn!” demonstration in the Palisades, marking one year since the fires and sending a blunt message: government failure didn’t end when the smoke cleared.

“This is a rally. This is a protest,” said Jeremy Padawer, a Pacific Palisades homeowner whose house — and nearly his entire neighborhood — was destroyed in the fires. Padawer, the event’s organizer and founder of PacificPalisades.com, an online site documenting the community’s ongoing struggles, said the goal is simple: “We are speaking truth to power.”

Padawer said the fire was not an unavoidable act of nature, but the result of systemic failure — ignored warnings, inadequate infrastructure and breakdowns across city and state agencies tasked with protecting hillside communities.

One year later, he said, the damage has only compounded. Families remain displaced. Rebuilds are stalled. And residents still have little clarity on how — or when — they can return home.

The Palisades and Eaton fires ignited on Jan. 7, 2025, tearing through Pacific Palisades and the unincorporated community of Altadena.

By the time they were contained, the fires had killed at least 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 homes, businesses and other structures across the region — including thousands of residences in both Pacific Palisades and Altadena.

Entire blocks of Pacific Palisades remain empty lots or half-cleared debris fields, turning what began as a fast-moving fire into a prolonged, financially devastating aftermath for thousands of residents.

“People are running out of insurance money,” said Jessica Rogers, a Pacific Palisades fire survivor and one of the organizers of a memorial anniversary event next week. “They’re running out of savings. People are becoming unhoused.”

Rogers lost her home in the fire, leaving her, her two children and their two cats without a permanent place to live. A trained social worker who once helped others navigate crisis, she now fields nonstop calls from neighbors spiraling toward financial collapse as insurance payouts dry up and temporary housing clocks run out.

For Rogers, the disaster didn’t end when the flames were extinguished. It shifted — from smoke and ash to paperwork, debt and displacement. She’s now using her own loss to amplify the voices of families still trapped in limbo one year later.

Rogers and Padawer push back on the notion that the Palisades is a wealthy enclave insulated from hardship.

“There are a lot of everyday hardworking people — teachers, nurses — with dependable jobs,” Padawer said. “Not all finance rainmakers people assume.”

Some families, Rogers said, are paying mortgages, rent and HOA fees at the same time. “When that money runs out, there is nowhere to go.”

She called the one-year mark a danger point for a community already stretched to the breaking point.

“This is a severely traumatized community,” Rogers said. “You’re seeing compounding grief — loss of home, loss of stability, loss of identity — all at once.”

Still, Rogers stressed the anniversary is not only about anger — it’s also about hope.

Her work centers on the Pacific Palisades Long-Term Recovery Group (Pali LTRG), which coordinates wellness programs, recovery education and community efforts aimed at reconnecting a fractured neighborhood.

On Jan. 7, Rogers is organizing the White Glove Flag Presentation and Remembrance Ceremony, hosted by Pali LTRG and Palisades American Legion Post 283, to honor the 12 Palisadians who lost their lives and recognize those helping the community rebuild.

“This is about honoring the people we lost,” she said. “But it’s also about reminding ourselves what we stand for — and committing to rebuild together.”

The protest will follow. “They Let Us Burn!” is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Palisades Village.

Padawer said he invited Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass to attend the protest.

“I would love it if Bass and Newsom showed up,” he said. “All they would need to do is listen.”

A spokesperson for Newsom’s office told The Post the governor plans to be in the Los Angeles area next week and visit with fire survivors, but did not confirm attendance at any events. Bass’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“We’re still hopeful,” Padawer said. “We know that the Palisades will rise like a phoenix… But what we don’t know is how many of the original community members will be able to join that rise.”

Rogers echoed that resolve.

“This is about community,” she said. “Even when everything else is gone.”