The Palisades Fire Never Should Have Happened: Here’s Why

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(Editor’s note: CTN received several accounts from residents about their efforts to save their homes. Over the next week,  several stories will be presented, and I welcome other’s to send their stories, too. See if you pick out two common threads.)

At 10:30 a.m. on January 7, I received the following photo from a resident who works near Olympic Boulevard and Sawtelle and simply wrote “Looks big.”

At 10:45 Circling the News received the following email alert from LAFD.

Pacific Palisades Brush Fire 

01-07-2025 10:30am 1190 N Piedra Morada Dr MAP: https://bit.ly/4gJqiln

Palisades Fire – 2 acres

INC#0738; FS23; Battalion 9; West Bureau; Council District 11; Dispatched Units BC4 BC717 BC9 CM40 CM42 CM52 DZ42 DZ45 E19 E23 E263 E269 E292 E37 E59 E67 E68 E69 E71 E8136 E8137 E8138 E8139 E8140 E90 E94 EM9 H0D H7 HA7 HE1 PB1880 RA23 RA69 T63 T69; Dispatch Channel 5; TAC 1 2; LAFD Spokesperson: David Ortiz

PASEO MIRAMAR:

A resident who lives on Paseo Miramar wrote an email to CTN on January 13. (Paseo Miramar is west and south of the Highlands.)

“We were the first ones to get hit by the windstorm of flying embers from the Highland directly to us – and our hill started burning at around 10:30 a.m. about 20 minutes after the fire started up in the Highlands.  We had no warning, no evacuation order and we were evacuating on our own.  I emailed the whole hill to leave and only about 30 minutes later did the city evacuation order come in.

“The City was utterly under prepared.

“Also, my husband tried to save our house with hoses and by around 1:30-2 p.m. the hill at the top had run out of water. Nothing the fire fighters could do. I am convinced had there been enough water, so much of us would have been spared.

“And here is what I am so angry about. We were the first ones getting hit and we had no water three hours after the fire started.

“I believe LADWP was keeping water pressure low because the water main broke at least four times on our street in the last two years – they never properly fixed it. The put a Band-Aid on it… they lowered water pressure to not have to fix it properly.

“LADWP needs to be held accountable for not maintaining their lines better and not giving the much needed water to the fire hydrants. If they had contained the fire better on Paseo Miramar we wonder how much more could have been saved everywhere else.

“Not one email or outreach from Traci Park’s office.”

CTN received this evacuation notice from city

 

Tuesday January 7, 2025, 11:13 AM
City of Los Angeles – Emergency Management Department
Alert Details

Severity:
Extreme – Extraordinary threat to life or property

Urgency:
Immediate – Responsive action SHOULD be taken immediately

Certainty:
Observed – Determined to have occurred or to be ongoing

Category:
GEO: Geophysical (inc. landslide)

Event Description:
Wildfire

Alert: Wildfire Alert-Palisades Fire

Dear Sue Pascoe,

This is a message from NotifyLA, issued by the City of Los Angeles Fire Department. The Palisades Fire is burning near Palisades Drive. Those nearby should get set for a potential wildfire evacuation by gathering supplies and loved ones.  Monitor local news, LAFD social media channels, and www.lafd.org/alerts. For more information on preparing for a wildfire, visit this website: https://www.lafd.org/ready-set-go

Sent by City of Los Angeles – Emergency Management Department
200 N Spring St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
Powered by Nixle
© 2025 Everbridge, Inc. All rights reserved.

CTN received several accounts from residents about their efforts to save their homes. Over the next week, I’ll  include several accounts and I welcome other’s to send their stories, too.

 

 

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4 Responses to The Palisades Fire Never Should Have Happened: Here’s Why

  1. Anonymous says:

    Traci Park is emailing regular updates to anyone who has subscribed to her CD11 newsletter. She is working her butt off on behalf of the Palisades, and has transferred her Olympics responsibilities to someone else and paused her re-election campaign. Go to https://cd11.lacity.gov to sign up for her very informative and helpful newsletter.

    Also, LADWP is giving out jugs of water in the Library parking lot.

  2. David Kaplan says:

    At 7am that morning I left the house on what was an exceedingly windy morning heading for Mountain Gate cc for my usual 18 holes with my longtime foursome. Once there my wife called and said “just play 9 as Dustys’s doggy playgroup with Julie Sterling was cancelled due to high winds “and she wanted to play with her group. It was really windy so I sort of welcomed ending our round early. I was on Sunset heading west at about 10:20 when I looked up at as the ridge behind Bienvenida became visible and i saw flames, high and wide. They stayed visible all the way into town amplifying a sense of dread that previous fire events had never brought out. I got home at 10:30 and watched from our deck as planes began circling in dropping water seemingly without effect.. A neighbor knocked and said “Get ready to leave” Dusty’s dog sitter sent someone ( Michael Garcia) down from her home in Winetka to pick up her Palisadian dogs and Michael showed up at 12:30, braving the extreme traffic to and from to get the dogs. We left at 2 taking a couple of days worth of clothing, believing we would be back in a fewo days. We were wrong. Our building at 860 Haverford did survive with some damage. Our top floor apartment with its magnificent view survives intact with no apparent damage surrounded by a sea of toxic rubble. All my Via neighbors like Jim
    Hoffman who I would see nearly every day but never exchanging emails with, gone with their houses destroyed. The extent of this tragedy will forever change the arc of our lives, particularly those of us approaching or just passing 80. We left LA to live near our kids in Westchester county Ny and then Richmond Virginia with no real plan for the future. It’s hard to imagine living in our home with nothing left around it even if or when it will deemed safe to return.

  3. Dana Dalton says:

    And the stupidity continues.
    Why was Steve Soboroff appointed to be the guy
    To “build back Palisades” when he was the guy
    Who ENDORSED Karen Bass for Mayor
    when it Was SO obvious she was NOT qualified.
    These people almost killed us!
    No thank you, they need to go.

  4. Billy Snyder says:

    She
    My house did survive, having water to about 9pm for spot fires and hot spots I could put out. When the spot fires were calm at my home I turned to neighbors homes to do the same, periodically returning to home for checks. 4/5 of those neighbor homes also survived, though 2 were consumed. My conclusion is many homes in Palisades, not all, could also have been saved if fire fighters did as I did but they left saying no water gotta go.
    One home was lost as dept knew there was a small fire starting in the attic but no attempt would be made without water. They drove away.

    Water was biggest key of loss and unwillingness to do what could be done was also to blame.
    I’m so very sorry for all my neighbors and friends who are gone and probably will not return. Happy they are safe but the losses emotionally and financially are horrendous.

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