“They Let Us Burn”: Palisades Fire Survivors Rally for Accountability One Year After Devastating Blaze

On the one-year anniversary of the Palisades Fire, survivors and community members gathered to demand answers and accountability from city and state leaders they say failed them when the blaze struck on January 7, 2025.

Palisades residents gather at the "They let us burn" protest in Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7, 2026.

Calls For Accountability

Organizers of the "They Let Us Burn" rally accused elected officials and fire authorities of an inadequate emergency response. Protesters singled out California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, though organizers stressed the event was not intended to be partisan.

Rally organizer Jeremy Padawer speaks at "They let us burn" on Jan. 7, 2026.

"We didn't have water, we didn't have reservoirs, we didn't have personnel, and there was no emergency response," said Jeremy Padawer, an organizer who lost his home in the fire.

Residents Describe Failures

Many attendees described chaotic scenes and insufficient resources during the blaze. Palisades resident Chad Skowron said the community lacked the basic infrastructure and manpower to fight the fire, and he recounted repeatedly refusing orders to leave the evacuation zone while trying to help neighbors and put out small fires.

Palisades Fire victim Jeremy Padawer stands at the site of his home one-year after wildfires devastated his neighborhood.

Other residents and speakers raised sharper allegations. "I have friends in the [fire] department. They were told to back down, stand down," Palisades resident Jason Winget said, alleging orders limited firefighters' response. Councilmember Traci Park said the city was "not well prepared" and that "all of the systems that we desperately needed to work on that day in history failed around them."

A Christmas banner displayed at a burned home site in the Pacific Palisades.

Frustration, Grief, And Demands

Rallygoers voiced anger, grief and a demand for a new approach to leadership. "Leadership could have done much more to help the citizens of the Palisades," said Doran Adhami. "The leadership has to be different. There has to be a demand for running this city efficiently. It was grossly mismanaged."

Speakers called for transparent investigations into the response, compensation and support that would allow displaced residents to return. "No more lies, come to the table with what actually occurred and settle with the community so that the people who need it the most can actually come home," Padawer urged.

For many attendees the rally was also a chance to reconnect with neighbors and remember what was lost. "These are scars that this community will carry forever," Councilmember Park said. Residents asked for sustained local and federal assistance as they plan to rebuild.

Voices From The Rally

• Gregg Champion: "Our government, local officials, Newsom and Bass completely failed us."
• Cooper Kilgore: "It’s a bummer that we have so many people here that needed help that there is none to be given."
• Carmen (identified by first name): "This was so preventable, completely preventable. We were completely let down."

The demonstration underscores unresolved questions about emergency preparedness and coordination in a city with growing wildfire risk. Residents and leaders at the rally said they will continue pushing for answers, reforms and the resources needed to rebuild the Palisades.