Mayor calls $31 citations “unacceptable” as residents struggle to rebuild after last year’s devastating fire.
Residents of Pacific Palisades who lost their homes in last year’s deadly fire say they are frustrated and angered after receiving $31 brush clearance citations from the Los Angeles Fire Department for properties that were destroyed and remain largely vacant, according to multiple reports.
Victims of the 2025 Pacific Palisades fire were recently billed for alleged noncompliance with brush clearance rules. The publication reported that the notices warned recipients of additional penalties if the fines were not paid by a March deadline. The bills were first obtained by FOX 11.
FOX 11 reported that nearly 14 months after the fire destroyed thousands of homes, some property owners were mailed notices citing violations even though their lots are empty and covered mostly in dirt.
“This is one final blow. After everything that happened, they’re still trying to take money,” resident Christine Martinez, whose home was destroyed in the fire, told FOX 11.
Other homeowners expressed similar disbelief. Carol Sanborn, who said she lost the home she had lived in for more than 40 years, told FOX 11 she was “a little astonished because there’s no house and no brush.”
Both outlets reported that residents attempting to dispute the charges have struggled to reach the department. Martinez told FOX 11 that the phone number listed on the bill directs callers to a voicemail box that is full and unable to accept new messages. She said she also emailed the department but has not received a response.
“Their voicemail is full. Can’t leave a message,” Martinez told FOX 11. “They said to write, so I wrote last week and haven’t heard anything.”
According to LA Magazine, this is not the first time Palisades residents have received such citations since the fire. A September 2025 investigation by KCAL News found that more than 300 brush clearance citations had been issued to properties that were partially or completely destroyed earlier that year. KCAL reported that amid proposed budget cuts and expanded inspection areas, the Los Angeles Fire Department relied on outside inspectors from other departments. The investigation found that the new unit was unable to coordinate bureau-wide training.
The latest round of notices prompted a response from city officials. In a statement reported by FOX 11, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said, “This is unacceptable — no resident who lost their home in the Palisades should receive this charge. The Mayor’s Office is in contact with LAFD to determine next steps.”
A spokesperson for Councilwoman Traci Park told FOX 11 that the citations were automated notices from the department but called them “entirely tone-deaf to those who lost everything,” adding that the council office is working directly with fire department leadership to resolve the issue.
For some residents, the amount of the fine is less significant than what they view as an insensitive bureaucratic error during an already difficult recovery process.
“I’m not paying it. It’s the principle of it,” Martinez told FOX 11.