Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced that over 1,000 properties affected by the January wildfires in the Palisades have been cleared of debris and approved by Los Angeles County—an essential step for reconstruction to begin. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers led the debris removal effort, which reached this milestone in less than two months.
Phase 2 of the debris removal process began just 35 days after the fires started, a pace nearly twice as fast as the timeline following the 2018 Woolsey Fire. To date, more than 648,000 tons of debris have been removed, with recent averages of 55 properties cleared daily.
Earlier this month, Mayor Bass visited two active construction sites in the Palisades that had received building permits from the City. So far, 31 permits across 23 addresses have been issued for rebuilding efforts, with hundreds more in review. The first permit was granted 57 days after the fires began, marking a significantly faster response than previous recovery efforts following the Camp and Woolsey fires.
To further support the rebuilding process, Mayor Bass has taken several executive actions:
-
Emergency Executive Order 6 launches Los Angeles’ first Self-Certification pilot program for plan checks. Qualified architects can now self-certify that residential rebuilding plans meet California Residential Code standards, bypassing the traditional plan check stage. Completed structures will still undergo safety inspections.
-
Emergency Executive Order 7 suspends the collection of permit and plan check fees related to wildfire recovery, pending formal City Council approval. It also directs the City Attorney to draft an urgency ordinance for a permanent fee waiver.
-
Executive Directive 10 introduces the use of artificial intelligence to assist City staff in reviewing project plans for code compliance, aimed at streamlining the permitting process.
Mayor Bass emphasized the goal of accelerating recovery to allow residents and businesses to return as soon as possible.
