Gavin Newsom Highlights Rapid Recovery Six Months After Palisades Fires

Commemorating the Six-Month Anniversary

• 📌 The event marks the six-month anniversary of the devastating Palisades fires, a moment to reflect on the tragedy and the community's response.
• 💔 A somber reminder that 30 lives were lost due to the fires, with an average age of 77, including great-grandparents, fathers and sons, and siblings.
• 💬 Governor Newsom emphasizes that recovery is defined by our response to adversity, not the adversity itself.

Unprecedented Debris Removal Efforts

• 🚀 The recovery process is highlighted as the fastest fire recovery in modern history in terms of debris removal.
• ⏱️ Hazardous debris removal was completed within 30 days of the fire, with the second phase of debris removal commencing on February 11th.
• 🤝 A strong partnership between FEMA, the EPA, and the US Army Corps of Engineers facilitated this rapid progress.
• 📊 Over 2,000 homes per month had debris removed, a rate 15 times faster than the Woolsey fire's recovery (132 homes/month).

Scale of Destruction and Opt-In Process

• 🏠 A total of 12,048 homes were completely destroyed by the fires.
• ✅ An extraordinary 96% of all debris has been removed, with the remaining few hundred parcels in the final stages of clearance.
• 👥 Less than 2,000 people opted out of the debris removal process, indicating significant community confidence in the recovery efforts.