Weather 
PACIFIC PALISADES, LOS ANGELES () — It’s been one year since the Palisades Fire tore through Pacific Palisades. On Wednesday, residents gathered to mark the anniversary – not just to remember what was lost, but to demand action.
“We feel that everyone’s let us down,” Pacific Palisades resident Norm Begua told Eyewitness at a rally to commemorate the solemn anniversary. “I mean, from the city to the state to the federal government. We’re left out on our own.”
The rally, called “They Let Us Burn,” was aimed at state and local leadership, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Their message was that the disaster was preventable.
The rally begins at 10:30 a.m. – a time organizers say is symbolic. It marks the moment when embers, burning for nearly a week, reignited and sparked the fire that devastated the area.
“What happened on Jan. 7 was catastrophic failure, and to pretend otherwise is just insulting,” L.A. City Councilmember Traci Park said.
Some like Fran Leb say they don’t see any progress. She decided to sell and move.
“I come back here, and it’s very tearful because my children their whole life was here,” she said.
Organizers say they want to speed up rebuilding. They say even a year later, transparency and accountability remain elusive.
“For the past year, survivors have been burned again and again by a lack of transparency, accountability and real support from the institutions meant to protect us,” Mariam Engel told the crowd at the rally.
The Palisades and Eaton fires that broke out Jan. 7, 2025, killed more than 30 people and destroyed over 17,000 homes and buildings in L.A. County.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
© 2026 Television,
