Wednesday marks the first anniversary of the Palisades and Eaton fires erupting, destroying thousands of buildings and killing 31 people.
Councilwoman Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, recalled the fear and uncertainty that came over her.
“It wasn't really until the morning of January 8th, when the sun began to come up we got our first glimpses in the daylight of the scope and the scale of the loss and the destruction that it really began to set in,” she told L.A.’s Morning News. “And I remember thinking in those earliest moments, ‘How are we ever going to get it cleaned up? How would we ever begin to rebuild, and what was going to happen to the thousands of people who instantly were displaced and struggling to determine what would happen next for them?’”
She also says that while there is some progress in the rebuilding of homes, she's not happy that the city has not waived rebuilding permit fees as it usually does during disasters.
“It is customary after a disaster like this to waive rebuild fees,” she said. “We have done that here in the city of Los Angeles after other disasters, including the Northridge earthquake. This is something that needed to be done immediately. It was a commitment made by our mayor in the spring in our state of the city address, and it is inexcusable that a majority of the council cannot reach an agreement on moving these fee waivers forward. There is nobody in the Pacific Palisades for whom this is a voluntary remodel or rebuild. These fees need to be waived, period.”
When asked if she thought the after-action report of the Palisades report was a cover-up, she said she didn’t believe it was, but that “the fire department should not have been left to investigate itself.”
“Given the scope and the scale of the loss and the destruction and the numerous questions about what happened and didn't happen on January 7th, this always should have been referred out for a comprehensive independent investigation, and that is what I called for in the immediate aftermath,” she continued. “That has been approved by the council and an outside inquiry is currently underway. But here we are a year out, and we continue to have more questions than answers.”
Park praised Fire Chief Jaime Moore for his remarks about the report during Tuesday’s fire commission meeting.
You can listen to the full interview with Park in the audio above.
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