California wildfires recovery updates: Wednesday, Feb. 19
LA Mayor responds to wildfire criticism
Mayor Karen Bass admits guilt after being asked about being in Ghana for a mission trip when the Eaton and Palisades fires broke out in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles wildfire survivors are continuing their long road to recovery after some lost everything in last month's deadly Eaton and Palisades fires.
In addition to cleaning up debris and recovering items that survived the fires, Angelenos are keeping tabs on any city, state, or federal assistance programs and how to avoid scams and price-gouged housing options.
Follow FOX 11's live blog with the latest updates provided on the Jan. 2025 fires in Southern California:
PCH reopening
6 p.m.: The Pacific Coast Highway will reopen on Thursday, February 20 for residents, businesses and schools.
PCH reopening for residents, businesses
The Pacific Coast Highway is reopening to residents, businesses and schools on Thursday, February 20.
Wildfire mortgage relief
10:20 a.m.: Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new proposal to create an over $125 million mortgage relief program to assist homeowners whose homes were destroyed or severely damaged by recent natural disasters, placing them at risk of foreclosure.
The proposal also includes funding to extend an existing counseling services program which would help affected homeowners navigate their recovery.
The package would utilize existing mortgage settlement funding, and would not impact the proposed 2025-2026 budget.
LA County provides update on wildfire recovery efforts
8:30 a.m.: LA County officials gathered together for a press conference to give the public the latest updates on recovery and rebuilding efforts in communities impacted by the Palisades and Eaton wildfires.
"I'm pleased to report that this morning we've hit another major milestone since EPA began the removal of household hazardous materials and lithium batteries," said Bill Dunmore with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "On January 28th, as of last night, of the 13,000+ properties impacted by the fires, EPA has completed over 80% of our work to conduct our portion of the recovery process, which we have been calling phase 1. Specifically, we have completed household hazardous material removals at over 8,000 properties and identified another 3,400 that we are deferring to our partners at the Army Corps of Engineers."
Crews making 'great progress' in wildfire recovery efforts
The EPA has completed over 80% of its work to conduct its portion of the recovery process called phase 1.
"I know that there is some question about this part of the process which has been called phase 2 deferred. EPA defers to phase 2 as those properties where there are unsafe conditions for our workers and that those conditions prevent them from completing the phase 1 hazardous household hazardous material removal. In these cases, we deferred the phase 1 removal to the Corps and the kinds of impediments that we might run into are damaged walls, collapsed ceilings or upper floors, maybe some large debris such as trees or heavy metal, where the Corps is more capable of tackling that difficulty than we are," he added.
Colonel Eric Swenson with the Army Corps of Engineers said debris crews have been making good progress removing fire ash and debris from damaged properties.
LA County gives wildfire recovery update
15 primary debris crews continue to remove debris from damaged properties in the Eaton and Palisades fire impact areas. Officials said over 80 teams have performed site hazard inspections and are "making great progress," officials said.
"Yesterday, we had 15, what I call primary debris crews out removing the fire ash and debris from damaged properties in both the Palisades and Eaton Fire impacted areas. We also had 25 asbestos remediation crews out actively working to remove the asbestos hazards so that our primary debris crews can go out and follow them to remove the remainder of the phase 2 debris," he said.
"We also had over 80 teams out doing site assessments. That's kind of our first step. We do. So we understand what the hazards are and what equipment we need to bring before those debris crews show up. We are working across both fire-impacted areas and making great, great progress. We also began debris removal on the Pacific Palisades Charter High School, Pali High. That has been ongoing for several days. And it's really exciting for the Palisades community as we know that that is a fixture and a really important building in many, many lives in that community. Four of the five schools within the Pasadena Unified School District that we were tasked to clear have had their primary ash and debris removed."
Grocery Outlets reopens in Altadena
6:00 a.m.: After it survived the flames of the Eaton Fire, the Grocery Outlet is officially reopening in Altadena.
Altadena's Grocery Outlet survives the flames
The Grocery Outlet in Altadena was opening for the first time Wednesday since the Eaton Fire.
The Eaton Fire
The Eaton Fire was first reported on Tuesday, Jan. 7 near Altadena and Midwick drives.
Some residents did not survive the flames and at least 7,000 structures were destroyed.
Authorities have implemented a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. for all areas that remain under mandatory evacuation orders in the Altadena area. This comes after more than 30 looting arrests were made by the LA County Sheriff's Department.
What caused the Eaton Fire?
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but they were fueled by extreme drought conditions, combined with the supersized Santa Ana winds that whipped flames and embers at 100 mph – much faster than usual.
A lawsuit filed Monday claims Southern California Edison equipment sparked the Eaton Fire.
The lawsuit alleges that Southern California Edison failed to comply with essential electrical and fire safety standards, including failing to maintain power lines and overgrown vegetation.
The Palisades Fire
The Palisades Fire broke out on the afternoon of Tuesday, Jan. 7 as parts of Southern California were hit by powerful Santa Ana winds – the strongest to hit the area in over a decade, officials said. The piercing winds not only intensified the spread of the fire, it also prevented helicopters and planes from dumping water or fire retardant onto the burning scene as it was too dangerous to fly during the first day of the massive fire.
The fire extended well over 23,000 acres in seven days, destroying homes and businesses across the Pacific Palisades and Malibu. The fire also forced evacuations across parts of LA County, including Bel-Air, Brentwood and Santa Monica.
The fire also destroyed the Pacific Palisades Charter High School and other schools in the fire's path.
What caused the Palisades Fire?
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, a popular hiking destination, Skull Rock – an area north of Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades – is at the center of an investigation "as a possible starting point for the Palisades fire."
Meanwhile, local authorities have announced multiple rounds of arrests taking place from the Palisades Fire scenes, but none of which are explicitly related to the cause of the fire. Over the weekend, there was an announcement of a man arrested for impersonating a firefighter. The alleged "fake firefighter" was accused of trying to break into one of the evacuated homes.
Other people have also been accused of arson across Southern California.