Amid the bustle of excavators, workers in neon vests driving trucks and debris being hauled away, one cleared parcel of land in the Pacific Palisades is marking a new step in the area’s post-fire recovery.
Alessandra and Walter Lopes’ home is one of the first to begin rebuilding, just three months after the Palisades fire destroyed their home and thousands of others.
Their home sits in a nearly fully destroyed neighborhood, debris punctuated by bright blue signs, adorned with the image of a dolphin that declares that the Palisades is not for sale, the refrain of a community group urging homeowners to stay the course and rebuild their homes to preserve the strong community that the coastal bluffs once housed.
The Lopeses are working with Dolan Design and Build to recreate their home, which they had for just two years before the fire.
Their builder, Cory Singer, said on Tuesday that his team aims to be done with the home in 10 months, which will be just over a year after the fire, which destroyed more than 5,000 homes.
“They barely got to live in it. They moved in in July of 2022, and then that next year, they spent a lot of time in Brazil, got back, celebrated the holidays in the house, and like the next day, they were leaving,” Singer said of the Lopes’ motivation to return quickly.
“They have teenage boys. They want their kids to experience this house before they go off to college. Time is of the essence,” he said.
The family contacted Singer just three weeks after the fire, at the end of January. They opted out of the U.S Army Corps of Engineers’ debris removal process, electing to have their property cleared by a private company, a choice Singer believes contributed to the property moving toward rebuilding so quickly.
As Singer works with the Lopeses and other clients rebuilding after the Palisades fire, he wants to see that his clients end up with a home that is resilient and practical.
“We want to be a part of the team in a positive way, and not only rebuild the home that they want and the home that they lost, but make it fun, try and find the silver lining in the situation, and do it at a cost that they’re going to be able to afford.”
Singer has 10 clients rebuilding throughout the Pacific Palisades, a “mixed bag” of clients, about half who are rebuilding fully custom homes and half who are rebuilding their homes to resemble the structures they lost in the fire.
“If you had your house that was from the 40s, or 50s, or 60s or even 70s, rebuilding that as it was maybe isn’t the best decision,” Singer said. “If you lived in a newer home that you either just built or just bought, typically that’s easier to just be like, let’s just rebuild this.”
Some clients are forward thinking, considering what will be best if they sell their homes in the future, wanting to rebuild larger homes to fit modern preferences.
“If I have a piece of land that’s worth over $3 million, I’m not necessarily going to be making a good decision if I’m rebuilding a 2,000 square foot house on that because this is an asset, it’s extremely expensive,” Singer said.
“And if I’m going to sell it one day, a modern family doesn’t live in a 2,000 square foot house in this neighborhood. They need like 3,500 square feet, so some people who are thinking about it from that perspective and have the means to build bigger usually are.”
In addition to economic and future considerations, many homeowners are also looking to ensure that they build back in a more fire-resistant manner. The Palisades remains a “very-high” fire hazard zone under Cal Fire’s new map designations.
In the Lopes’ home and others that Singer will be working on, foundations will be built on-grade instead of being raised, eaves will be backed with fire retardant and landscaping will be done with fire resistance at the top of mind.
“We’re trying to be mindful of what we’re replanting this time around. Maybe more succulents, maybe more lower plantings, and maybe no wood fences. Try and limit the amount of combustible materials on site,” Singer said.
While the Lopes’ home was a newer build, many older homes in particular have features that do not fare well during fires.
“A lot of traditional or coastal-style houses that are very common in the Palisades, a lot of the roof lines have an overhang where you would see an exposed rafter tail or an exposed piece of lumber. Well, lumber is connected to a piece of lumber inside the attic. And in a fire event like this, as those eaves catch on fire, they actually spread the fire to the attic and your home ends up burning from the inside out,” Singer said.
“And the same thing with raised foundations where you have these vents that embers can get in and get under the home. Your home will literally burn from beneath.”
Some of Singer’s clients are in uncertain positions with their insurance companies, embarking on a journey of rebuilding when they still do not know how much money they will get from their insurers, which may be contributing to some holding back on moving towards rebuilding.
“I think that’s why over the next couple months as that information and as those settlement checks start to hit people’s bank accounts, there should be some speed and seeing more progress,” he said.
This is not Singer’s first time working with homeowners who have lost their home in a natural disaster, as a builder he has been involved with multiple clients who lost their homes in the Woolsey fire, a 2018 blaze that burned over 1,600 structures, including some in Malibu, an area also affected by the Palisades fire.
“For those of us who have been through it and have built homes for victims of natural disasters in the past, I feel obligated to be here and help people rebuild,” Singer said.
“Being in this environment as a builder requires a lot of patience and understanding for people’s emotional state and the trauma that everyone’s just been through. And I think even as just an Angeleno, it’s sad for those of us who didn’t lose their homes.”
While at least four permits have been issued in the Palisades and the Lopes are rebuilding, across Los Angeles County, the similarly fire-ravaged Altadena has had zero permits for rebuilding issued so far in the wake of Eaton fire.
“I’ve been keeping a close eye on the County’s One Stop Permitting Shop and to be candid—I’m not satisfied with the pace,” said Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.
A permitting center has been established in Altadena, but with the number of permits sitting firmly at zero, Barger and Lindsey Horvath, who represents the Palisades on the board, authored a motion to create a Unified Permitting Authority in Altadena.
“No rebuild permits have been issued in Altadena, and that’s unacceptable. Today’s motion will cut through the red tape to get my Altadena constituents back on track to rebuilding faster. We don’t have time to waste,” Barger said.
In the Eaton fire area, unincorporated Los Angeles County has received 132 preliminary zoning applications to rebuild, while 23 homes have begun the permit application process, with two of these homes having their plans approved, but pending clearances, according to the county.
Staff writer David Wilson contributed to this article.