More than 1,000 people affected by the Palisades Fire gathered Wednesday in front of the charred remains of the historic Pacific Palisades Business Block building.
Speakers at the rally accused California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of negligence before, during, and after the 2025 firestorm that tore through the coastal community, destroying homes, businesses, and landmarks and displacing thousands of residents.
At the "They Let Us Burn" rally, chants of "fire them all — fire them now" were met with loud cheers from the crowd assembled in the village center, a year after the fires reshaped the neighborhood.
The two fires that broke out Jan. 7, 2025, killed more than 30 people and destroyed over 17,000 homes and buildings in Los Angeles County.
The Palisades Fire scorched LA's coastal Pacific Palisades neighborhood. The Eaton Fire razed the town of Altadena northeast of LA.
A 29-year-old man charged with sparking the Palisades Fire faces a maximum sentence of 45 years. He has pleaded not guilty.
The cause of the Eaton Fire remains under investigation.
The fires were among the most destructive wildfires in LA history, fueled by extreme drought conditions, high winds, and overgrown vegetation.
The blazes burned through residential neighborhoods, forced mass evacuations, and left large portions of the community uninhabitable for months.
Considered by fire officials to be a preventable disaster, the fires intensified ongoing debates over forest management, infrastructure hardening, and emergency preparedness in California.
Ann Juliano, who grew up in the Palisades, attended the rally holding a sign that read, "Not Wild. Not Natural. Stop the Propaganda."
"I was staying in the house we all grew up in. It was a week after we buried my dad, and I was helping my mom get organized," Juliano said.
"We smelled the fire and evacuated. We didn't take anything with us — all the photos, the albums, memories of my dad.
"I figured I'd be back that night," she said.
Instead, the home was destroyed.
Rally organizers issued a list of demands to Newsom and Bass, who did not attend the event.
Their requests include waiving rebuilding fees, suspending property taxes until homes are restored and reoccupied, expanding brush clearing and vegetation management, burying power lines, improving evacuation planning, and enacting insurance reforms for homeowners still waiting on fire claim payouts.
Organizers said the rally was intended not only to remember what was lost, but to pressure state and local leaders to address policies they say left the Palisades vulnerable and continue to delay recovery for affected families.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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