The wildfires that have broken out in the Pacific Palisades and other parts of Los Angeles this month have damaged or destroyed an estimated $350 million in public infrastructure, including street lights, recreation facilities and a burned library, according to a city report.
A preliminary cost estimate, which assessed damage in the first four days of the fire, was presented Wednesday to the City Council as part of a larger discussion on the impact of emergencies on the city’s budget.
City Manager Matt Szabo told council members that his office has submitted a preliminary cost estimate to the Federal Emergency Management Agency as part of a plan to obtain full or partial reimbursement for fire- and wind-related damage. His office, which has relied heavily on cost estimates for each city department, will work to correct the figures in the coming weeks.
“These are preliminary estimates,” he told the council. “They will probably grow.”
Szabo’s seven-page memo did not examine the public infrastructure damaged or destroyed by the Eaton fire, which burned in Altadena and Pasadena — communities outside the city of Los Angeles. It also did not include public buildings maintained by the Los Angeles Unified School District, the county of Los Angeles or other non-city entities.
The ruins of Palisades Elementary Charter School in Pacific Palisades on Jan. 8.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Major infrastructure damage to downtown LA was attributed to the Palisades fire, which destroyed more than 6,600 buildings and damaged another 890, most of them in Pacific Palisades.
According to the report, the Ministry of Water and Power sustained damage of approximately R76 million, mainly in its power distribution system. Sewage infrastructure, including pumping plants in nearly a dozen locations, sustained nearly $48 million in damage. The loss to Pacific Palisades Public Library is estimated at $55 million.
FEMA typically helps local governments with disaster recovery by reimbursing 75% of the cost of the damage, city financial analysts said. In the final days of the Biden administration, state officials agreed to reimburse the city for debris removal and emergency responses to wildfires and wind-related storms at a rate of 100% — but only if that work takes place within 180 days of the city’s state of emergency. announcement.
On top of the damaged infrastructure, the city estimated about $24 million in emergency response costs during the first 10 days of the wildfires – mostly for fire and police services.
It’s unclear whether FEMA’s approach to spending the city’s slow-growing emergency spending will change during the Trump administration. On Monday, President Trump issued an executive order directing federal officials to ensure that agencies that “seek to interfere” with immigration enforcement do not receive federal funds.
An aide to Hugo Soto-Martínez, one of the council members who proposed the city’s sanctuary law, said the city would not lose federal money under such an order because its sanctuary law “does not interfere” with federal law enforcement. “Instead, it ensures that city resources and staff are used to work with immigration authorities,” said the aide.
Szabo said his office hopes to avoid using the city’s emergency fund, instead borrowing money from other funds until the state money arrives. That strategy was used by the city during the pandemic emergency, when city workers provided COVID-19 testing and many other essential services.
LA elected officials were dealing with budget pressures before the fire. The city’s emergency reserve has fallen to $320 million, or about 4% of the city’s general fund budget, which pays for basic services like police and emergency services. The city’s budget goal is to keep that fund at 5%.
Also Wednesday, the council approved the creation of an ad hoc hurricane and wildfire recovery committee to oversee rebuilding efforts and the distribution of state and federal aid.
Councilmember Traci Park, who represents Pacific Palisades, said the committee will focus not only on rebuilding but also on “restoring public faith in our city’s emergency and disaster management system”.
“For that reason, we will take these meetings to the affected communities, to make it easier and easier for citizens to participate and have their voices heard,” he said.
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