Almost a year has passed since the Palisades Fire ravaged one of the most close-knit coastal neighborhoods in Los Angeles. While the flames have long been extinguished, the consequences are still painfully evident.

Many residents remain without homes, grappling with both rent and mortgage payments, while navigating a maze of bureaucratic challenges.

As they reflect on the anniversary, the community is united in mourning and demanding clear answers.

This sentiment has driven hundreds, perhaps even over a thousand individuals, to gather for the “They Let Us Burn!” demonstration in the Palisades. This event marks one year since the devastating fires and delivers a stark message: government failures did not cease once the smoke dissipated.

“This is more than just a rally; it’s a protest,” stated Jeremy Padawer, a Pacific Palisades resident whose home, along with nearly his entire neighborhood, was lost to the blaze. Padawer, who organized the event and founded PacificPalisades.com, a platform chronicling the community’s ongoing challenges, expressed a clear objective: “We are here to speak truth to power.”

Padawer said the fire was not an unavoidable act of nature, but the result of systemic failure — ignored warnings, inadequate infrastructure and breakdowns across city and state agencies tasked with protecting hillside communities.

One year later, he said, the damage has only compounded. Families remain displaced. Rebuilds are stalled. And residents still have little clarity on how — or when — they can return home.

The Palisades and Eaton fires ignited on Jan. 7, 2025, tearing through Pacific Palisades and the unincorporated community of Altadena.

By the time they were contained, the fires had killed at least 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 homes, businesses and other structures across the region — including thousands of residences in both Pacific Palisades and Altadena.

Entire blocks of Pacific Palisades remain empty lots or half-cleared debris fields, turning what began as a fast-moving fire into a prolonged, financially devastating aftermath for thousands of residents.

“People are running out of insurance money,” said Jessica Rogers, a Pacific Palisades fire survivor and one of the organizers of a memorial anniversary event next week. “They’re running out of savings. People are becoming unhoused.”

Rogers lost her home in the fire, leaving her, her two children and their two cats without a permanent place to live. A trained social worker who once helped others navigate crisis, she now fields nonstop calls from neighbors spiraling toward financial collapse as insurance payouts dry up and temporary housing clocks run out.

For Rogers, the disaster didn’t end when the flames were extinguished. It shifted — from smoke and ash to paperwork, debt and displacement. She’s now using her own loss to amplify the voices of families still trapped in limbo one year later.

Rogers and Padawer push back on the notion that the Palisades is a wealthy enclave insulated from hardship.

“There are a lot of everyday hardworking people — teachers, nurses — with dependable jobs,” Padawer said. “Not all finance rainmakers people assume.”

Some families, Rogers said, are paying mortgages, rent and HOA fees at the same time. “When that money runs out, there is nowhere to go.”

She called the one-year mark a danger point for a community already stretched to the breaking point.

“This is a severely traumatized community,” Rogers said. “You’re seeing compounding grief — loss of home, loss of stability, loss of identity — all at once.”

Still, Rogers stressed the anniversary is not only about anger — it’s also about hope.

Her work centers on the Pacific Palisades Long-Term Recovery Group (Pali LTRG), which coordinates wellness programs, recovery education and community efforts aimed at reconnecting a fractured neighborhood.

On Jan. 7, Rogers is organizing the White Glove Flag Presentation and Remembrance Ceremony, hosted by Pali LTRG and Palisades American Legion Post 283, to honor the 12 Palisadians who lost their lives and recognize those helping the community rebuild.

“This is about honoring the people we lost,” she said. “But it’s also about reminding ourselves what we stand for — and committing to rebuild together.”

The protest will follow. “They Let Us Burn!” is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Palisades Village.

Padawer said he invited Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass to attend the protest.

“I would love it if Bass and Newsom showed up,” he said. “All they would need to do is listen.”

A spokesperson for Newsom’s office told The Post the governor plans to be in the Los Angeles area next week and visit with fire survivors, but did not confirm attendance at any events. Bass’ office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“We’re still hopeful,” Padawer said. “We know that the Palisades will rise like a phoenix… But what we don’t know is how many of the original community members will be able to join that rise.”

Rogers echoed that resolve.

“This is about community,” she said. “Even when everything else is gone.”