At This Blistering Pace, Burned Down Parts of L.A. Should Be Rebuilt in…Decades and Decades

First the good news. Los Angeles has doubled–DOUBLED!—the number of permits to rebuild burned-out, unincorporated areas of L.A. County since we last heard. And, the city of Los Angeles is killing it at the building and planning department, increasing the number of permits issued by 400%

Can we get an “Amen!” and a “Hallelujah!” from the choir? 

Hey, where did everybody go? Why the deafening silence? When’s the white dove release? 

Time for the bad news. 

When we last visited this issue three months after the fires, Mayor Karen Bass was holding a party to announce the first permit issued. I told you about it in my piece called “Why LA Knows That Karen Bass Can’t Get It Done.” The good communist mayor was busting her buttons and hoping no one noticed that looking like you’re doing something isn’t the same as doing something. 

Soon thereafter another three permits were issued, one of which was to repair a home. Seventy two residents remained in the queue to get permits to repair or rebuild. 

Now, however, we learn the amazing news that the City of Angels has issued a stunning total of five permits in the city limits. 

That means that from early March, Karen Bass has overseen a 400% increase in the amount of permits she’s issued to rebuild the part of the city that shouldn’t have burned down in the first place. 

This blistering pace was characterized by L. A. County Supervisor Karen Barger as “totally unacceptable.” Yes, well. 

Barger shouldn’t be scolding anyone too severely. After all, in L.A. County’s unincorporated areas, where more than 12,000 homes, buildings, and parcels were scorched in the fires that started January 7, there have been a grand total of eight permits to rebuild issued so far. Eight.

     Related: What Started L.A.’s Firestorm? Hint: It’s Not ‘Climate Change.’

L.A. County, to its credit, just started an online tote board to track the rebuilding process. 

L.A. should be doing better, obviously. As I’m writing this, I can hear the voice of Bret Baier of Fox News on the living room TV touting a Times Square-sized building project in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia that was  just completed in 118 days. It’s been 125 days and counting for L.A. 

L.A. County has a population of nearly ten million people. Seven million people live in Riyadh.

Some estimates suggest that at this rate it will take decades to rebuild L.A. 

California Pacific Palisades fires property update

This is mind blowing: Experts say it’ll take between 20-40 years to rebuild Los Angeles — It’s because of their regulations. In LA you need not only a building permit, but a

– Grading permit
– Foundation permit
– Electrical… pic.twitter.com/YxSXA7phOo

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) January 19, 2025

Judging on results from the Carr Fire (2018) and Camp (Paradise) Fire (2018), California is in no hurry to streamline or help property owners to be made whole again—if they can get fire insurance to cover the state and local governments mismanagement of resources.

     Related: Where’s the Water, Gavin?

The Urban Institute did a study of five recent wildfires and found that “more than half of the affected homes have not received building permits six years after the fire.” And you can see why:

The Carr Fire destroyed 876 homes in Shasta County (and an additional 266 in Redding, where we don’t have data), and debris clearance concluded in May 2020, approximately 21 months after the fire. Today, about 40 percent of properties have received a building permit and 36 percent have been issued a certificate of occupancy, meaning a significant number of homes in Shasta County (59 percent) haven’t even applied for a permit after 6.5 years. 

The Camp Fire, which broke out just months later, remains one of the largest and most destructive fires in US history. Rebuilding data show debris clearance was completed in November 2019, a year after the fire, but that building permits have only been issued for 29 percent of properties and certificates of occupancy were issued for just 23 percent. 

Editor’s Note: President Trump is leading America into the “Golden Age” as Democrats try desperately to stop it.  

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