Three months after the Palisades Fire devastated thousands of homes, the first rebuilding project is underway in the community.
Walter and Allesandra Lopes’ Pacific Palisades home on De Pauw St. was completely destroyed in the fire. On Wednesday, Mayor Karen Bass stood with them while work crews excavated the lot to lay the foundation for rebuilding.
“What's significant is they're already underway with construction, so they've been through phase one, phase two, and they're in phase three, and I hope that it offers a symbol of hope,” Bass said.
The mayor drew comparisons with other fire disasters, saying L.A. is defying expectations on how long recovery might take. She pointed out the Lopes family’s permits were granted in just 57 days, four times faster than the recovery from the Woolsey Fire in 2018.
“Other locations were at this point in six months, eight months or a year,” she said.
Allesandra Lopes called it “a new beginning, not just for our family, but for the whole neighborhood.”
“I have a very determined husband,” she told KNX News’ Pete Demetriou. “When everything happened while I was sad and crying, he was already on his task list, calling people, trying to get informed how to get things done.”
Walter said he moved fast on rebuilding to motivate others to do the same.
“I feel that by taking the lead and breaking ground here, we're also gonna bring hope to others, so this is our piece of contribution to the community,” he said.
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The Lopeses expect to have their home rebuilt in 10 to 12 months.
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