Palisades Fire victims frustrated by brush clearance citations
More than 300 properties in the Pacific Palisades that were partially or completely burned in the January wildfires have received brush clearance citations, a KCAL News investigation has revealed.
The Palisades Fire is the third-most destructive wildfire in California's history, destroying 6,837 buildings and damaging an additional 973 in the coastal community. In the eight months since the disaster, victims like Serene Meshel-Dillman have been scraping, scouring and sifting through the ashes of their homes as they attempt to recover.
After the initial shock of the wildfire faded, Meshel-Dillman clung to tiny shreds of hope like the grass that surrounded her olive tree. However, the patch of brush turned into another problem she had to wade through.
"We got this notice of non-compliance from the city of Los Angeles Fire Department," she said.
So far this year, brush clearance citations throughout Los Angeles have increased by 37%, to 14,840 compared to 10,827 in 2024. At least 312 of the properties that received the non-compliance notice were in the Palisades.
"Sorry your house burned down but go clear your brush or you're going to be fined $750," Meshel-Dillman said. "I thought it was a joke ... I think it's just misplaced attention in the wrong area."
The increase in citations comes after KCAL News drew attention to 16,000 acres in "high fire severity zones" that required inspection and proposed budget cuts that would lead to the loss of three people in the LAFD's Brush Inspections Unit.
To make up the difference, the LAFD has been using inspectors from other departments. In schedules and emails obtained by KCAL News, the department started with 20 members, then added 40 participants. However, the brush clearance unit "did not have time to coordinate" a bureau-wide training, according to the emails. Instead, the participants "were required to attend a field exercise" with an inspector, the emails continued.
"They're doing the best that they can; sometimes they make a mistake," LAFD Fire Marshall David Perez said. "It's not intentional, and we always fix them as soon as we find them, but it's not necessarily because they're not full-time brush inspectors."
Mayor Karen Bass said the citations "should have never happened" and ordered LAFD to send letters to residents to apologize.
"I think that things sometimes go on autopilot, and it was a mistake," Bass said. "When we found out about it, which I would say was a month ago, we stopped it."
LAFD said they have only found one email to a homeowner "clearing" a citation but not apologizing. The department added that it will not pursue the notices of non-compliance.
Meshel-Dillman said she never received an apology, but had her citation cleared after she cut the brush herself.
"It's just a continuation of incompetence, it seems like," Meshel-Dillman said. "I'm just fed up ... It's sad. It's horrible. I hate that I have to go through it."