LA Utility Apologizes for Rebuilding Delays After Devastating Fire

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has apologized to victims of the January 2025 Palisades Fire for significant delays in restoring temporary power, which has impeded rebuilding efforts. The fire destroyed nearly 7,000 structures in the Pacific Palisades area.

As of August 2026, only approximately 1,000 homes were under reconstruction, despite nine out of ten owners expressing plans to rebuild. Homeowners have attributed the slow pace to delays in LADWP providing the necessary temporary power to their home sites.

Dave Hanson, LADWP's Interim General Manager, stated, "My deep apologies to everybody that’s had to deal with any sort of a delay on the account of DWP." He acknowledged the personal impact of these delays, saying, "When I’m talking to a customer that I know just wants to go home and I’m the reason they can’t go home, I do take that personal."

Hanson cited the relocation of the Palisades home base three times and an influx of inspection requests that outpaced the utility's staffing as reasons for the delays. To address these issues, LADWP has hired five to six additional inspectors for the area and launched a customer portal to guide contractors and property owners through the compliance checklist.

"These people lost everything that they own, their memories, their keepsakes, that they just want to go home. That’s all that matters. I want to be part of the solution, and so do our 13,332 employees," Hanson told ABC 7.

Residents like Jack Nguyen, a victim of the Palisades Fire, have expressed frustration with the process. "We have been through hell literally, and you would think that if anything, the bureaucracy would be shortened and we would be able to ease through the process," Nguyen said.

In July 2026, 1,628 new-home permit applications were submitted, 1,088 permits were issued, and 905 homes had begun construction, according to the tracking site Pali Builds. However, only 27 homes had received certificates of occupancy by that time.

An earlier analysis in April 2026 revealed a slow rebuilding pace in Pacific Palisades and Altadena following the January 2025 fires, which resulted in 31 fatalities and the destruction of nearly 16,000 acres. The pace of recovery lagged behind that of other major California wildfires.