The village green in the once idyllic Pacific Palisades neighborhood near Malibu, California, long served as a gathering spot and point of pride. Fire in the past week transformed it into rubble, downing power lines and trees, and leaving behind shattered glass and melted steel littering the streets.
Residents and business owners across the region worry it could be a sign of more to come.
As wildfires continue to endanger lives and property across Los Angeles, one of the region's hardest hit commercial districts is a shadow of its former self. This secluded community of upscale designer shops, eateries, service providers and other businesses now resembles a post-apocalyptic neighborhood after the Palisades fire destroyed 5,000 homes and businesses, from small family-owned eateries and shops to real estate offices.
The formerly picturesque Pacific Palisades city center may never look the same, local owners said, as landlords and businesses grapple with rebuilding after what is adding up to be the most expensive natural disaster in the state's history.
"We, along with all of the Palisades, intend to bounce back and bring back our beloved community," Nora Cocksedge, manager of Paliskates, one of many small businesses ravaged by the fire, said on a GoFundMe page created to help the 25-year-old business reopen.
Rebuilding won't be easy. Many home and business owners still aren't allowed into the fire zone to survey damage to their properties. Officials say it could be another several days before repopulation can be considered as emergency crews cut off gas, move downed power lines and remove toxic substances.
Losses across Los Angeles could reach $150 billion, according to a preliminary estimate by AccuWeather. To help ease rebuilding efforts, Gov. Gavin Newsom has suspended certain permitting and review requirements, while Mayor Karen Bass promised to issue new city regulations to speed recovery efforts.
Scarred streets
On Friday, three days after the fire tore through the heart of Pacific Palisades, still-running water pipes littered the streets around the town gathering spot that is now a disaster site.
Even on a sunny day, the neighborhood was overcast due to the clouds of smoke from the fire on the hills in the near distance.
The fire's path through the commercial neighborhood was seemingly fickle, leaving some buildings untouched while surrounding buildings were leveled.
The fire seemed to skip along Sunset, the district's main artery, torching a 30,000-square-foot Ralphs supermarket at 15120 W. Sunset Blvd. and then passing over a drug store and hardware store to ignite the Anderson Real Estate-owned Palisades La Cruz mixed-use center, leaving a twisted mass of metal at 15200 W. Sunset Blvd.
The 30,000-square-foot Gelson's grocery store at 15424 W. Sunset Blvd. became a burnt-out shell, with smoldering fixtures and grocery carts inside. Across the street, one condominium in a row of several had burned, its neighbors seemingly untouched. A Phillips 76 gas station remained intact while a Shell station across the street at 15401 W. Sunset Blvd. was just a skeleton of blackened beams behind gas pumps.
Assessing damage
At the Palisades Village luxury shopping center, tanker trucks of water waited to spray any new outbreaks near the 125,000-square-foot complex.
According to officials, Caruso hired private firefighters from Arizona and brought in the water trucks, contributing to the survival of the open-air, mixed-use property that remains intact. Tenants include Erewhon, Saint Laurent and Lululemon alongside apartments.
One tenant, a skate shop called Paliskates at 1021 N. Swarthmore Ave., was completely destroyed, while a Serena & Lily store was singed on the exterior. Paliskates staff launched a GoFundMe campaign to help rebuild the business founded by Erica Simpson in 1999.
The inferno was more destructive to other commercial space, including a historic mixed-use building across the street at 15300-15314 W. Sunset Blvd. Owned by Los Angeles-based Anderson Real Estate, the 30,000-square-foot Spanish Colonial Revival property was built in 1924 and designated a historic landmark.
On the other side of the village green, a row of companies on Via De La Paz owned by local families that once housed a florist, a salon, a karate center, an interior designer's office and other small businesses were burned to cinders along with a church.
The fire also leveled Matthew's Garden Cafe, a popular spot for special occasions on North Swarthmore Avenue. “We are hopeful that in a not-so-distant future we can rebuild and return to the community,” the restaurant wrote on its website.
Rebuilding among ruins
Local officials are determined to help businesses rebuild by eliminating red tape and streamlining access to relief services and funds, Los Angeles County supervisor Kathryn Barger said at a news conference over the weekend.
"We're going to build back like for like, if not better," she said. "The goal is for government to be a facilitator, not an obstacle."
The governor signed an executive order to suspend permitting and review requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act and the California Coastal Act to allow victims of the recent fires to restore their homes and businesses faster.
Officials held out hope that the once vibrant neighborhood might one day return to its familiar state.