Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has faced criticism for announcing a “victory lap” a bit prematurely regarding the “First Palisades Fire Reconstruction.”
Local residents are claiming that this announcement is misleading and indicative of the city’s lack of effort in confirming whether the homes being showcased were actually rebuilt from the fire damage.
As it turns out, the house Bass touted as a symbol of recovery for families returning home was actually a development project in the works long before the fire occurred. The plans to demolish and reconstruct it were already established, unrelated to the fire that devastated the area later on.
The Kagawa Street property had been bought by a developer prior to the fire, with no ties to the families evacuated due to it. Real estate records indicate that this home was purchased in early November 2024, and a demolition permit was secured on January 7—just hours before a flare-up of the Palisades Fire that resulted in extensive damage, including to the original house on Kagawa Street.
Following debris removal and city inspections, the project was final approved in April. When it passed its final inspection recently, city officials quickly labeled it the first official reconstruction.
Bass remarked, “The Palisades community has experienced an unimaginable year…Today is a significant moment of hope,” citing the developer-built homes as proof of progress.
However, for many residents still living in temporary housing, this announcement felt misleading and somewhat hollow.
Paris Builds, a community group tracking the rebuilding efforts, expressed concern, highlighting that the situation raises broader questions about the city’s management of the reconstruction process. “How can a city handle the complexity of rebuilding an entire coastal town when it can’t verify whether a single home was rebuilt after a fire?” they asked.
Spencer Pratt, whose home was lost in the fire, criticized the announcement online, urging others to “Read the data!” He pointed out that the reconstruction of the Kagawa property had received necessary approvals prior to the fire.
The mayor’s office defended its push for the Kagawa project and provided a detailed timeline stating that the contractor, Thomas James Homes, had submitted a planning application on November 8, 2024. The reconstruction was not approved until after the original home was destroyed by the fire. The plan received approval on April 1, 2025, nearly three months post-fire, and the occupancy certificate was issued on November 21, 2025.
