Rebuilding

This past week Linda and I escaped to our old stomping grounds of the South Bay in Los Angeles to spend some time with our friends Adriene and Dave Prosser. Like we always do, we had many laughs and a wonderful time and it was great to see them and spend time together.

However, it wasn't all fun and games. I asked Dave if he would drive us over to Pacific Palisades and Malibu so we could see first hand how the recovery from the devastating fires of last year were progressing.

For those that aren't familiar with this disaster, or maybe have forgotten about it, here is a quick recap.

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(Above left an aerial map from 1/5 before the fire and on the right the same area on 1/14, halfway through the event)

The Palisades Fire started on January 7, 2025 and raged out of control until January 31, 2025. For nearly one month it burned it's way down the mountain and to the ocean of Malibu scorching 23,448 acres in Pacific Palisades, Topanga, and Malibu. It destroyed over 6800 structures and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.

Palisades is a very tight knit community. People have lived there for generations and they know each other. Natural disasters, fires, and other events that cause massive destruction are all bad and horrible but this one, this one was personal for the community.

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Until you actually drive through the streets here it is impossible to understand the scope of destruction and the incredible luck of some to not have sustained a scratch on their homes. The people here are rebuilding. Every street has multiple teams of builders rebuilding from the dirt up to try to get people back home as quick as possible.

It is emotional to see the work being done, even when you don't know one person who lived there. What it does do is make you think how grateful you are to not have had to go through something like this yourself.

Just a few miles down the hill it is a different story in Malibu.

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The fire destroyed over 700 buildings here. You can see the dark footprint of an old, popular, mobile home park wiped out on the bottom picture above. The two pictures on the top row in the center and on the right are not just pictures of Pacific Coast Highway, there used to be scores of homes along this stretch that are gone with only their pilings left behind.

Tropical storm Rachel damaged and destroyed many more homes as waves pounded them for days, knocking them off their pilings and depositing them in the ocean. And before Rachel, and after the fires, a massive sink hole opened in Malibu and swallowed 31 more homes, causing celebrities like Nicholas Cage to abandon them.

I know it might be hard for some of us to feel sorry for the ultra rich, or even the pretty rich, when they lose their homes but they are people too and they lost everything they owned. It hurts them just like it would hurt us so we need to remember they have feelings too.

The surprising thing to see was that unlike their neighbors above them, there is almost no rebuilding happening in Malibu. Many of those homeowners are trying to sell their property but nobody wants to pay the crazy high prices being asked for nine pilings that are the only thing left. With the threat of an unusually strong El Nino this year, anyone that might have bought something is waiting to see what else gets destroyed before making any purchases.

Driving through all this was both depressing and uplifting. You could feel the pain for those that lost their homes but at the same time you felt joy for them as they start to rebuild their lives. Nobody should have to go through what brush fire victims go through, no matter where they happen. Anyone that starts these fires should get the death penalty and when they are started because of carelessness of utilities then the top executives should go to jail.

This Thanksgiving as you and your family and friends are giving thanks, remember those that lost everything in this fire and give a little shout out to them to hang in there and keep moving forward to get back on their feet.