So How's That Fire Recovery Going in California?

Short answer: not well. Not well at all. 

We can celebrate the fact that one home has been certified as rebuilt and ready for occupancy, that's about it. After poking around, trying to find the exact numbers of homes and structures fully destroyed or severely damaged by the fire, I concluded that there is no reliable set of numbers. Some sources report 5-6,000, while others estimate 13,000. 

Go figure. 

“Sobbing actually. It was so devastating to see how incompetent our city is,” said Jessica Rogers, president of the Pacific Palisades Residents Association. https://t.co/9JIa36rqon

— Jeff Richards (@jrichlive) December 11, 2025

But there is one thing about which we can be totally certain: Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass have been gaslighting Los Angeles-area residents about their intentions and their efforts to rebuild the region and get the displaced people back into their homes. 

Remember Gavin Newsom‘s Marshall plan?

Gavin Newsom: We’re already organizing a Marshall plan. We already have a team reimagining LA 2.0.

Reporter: Tell us about that Marshall plan.

Gavin Newsom: (puts up hands defensively) We’re just starting to lay it out. We are still… https://t.co/e3WsmWHgES pic.twitter.com/eMIo9qLOmG

— Kevin Dalton (@TheKevinDalton) December 7, 2025

Gavin Newsom's promise to implement a "Marshall Plan" for the stricken region was apt in one regard: the region looked as bombed out as Berlin or Nuremberg after the fire swept through the region, but other than that he was completely full of BS about his intentions to help the cities affected rebound, or to help the residents get their lives back in order. 

I spent some time in Pacific Palisades today, documenting what has and hasn't happened in the 11 months since the fires. The neglect from state and local government before, during, and after the fires is despicable and inexcusable. pic.twitter.com/KAT88RWpPw

— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) December 9, 2025

As usual, Democrats believe that words are actions, and the expression of good intentions should satisfy the populace. I call it "expression of good intentions" because these people rarely mean what they say when speaking to those they hold in contempt, which is almost everybody. 

This is a long video but please watch to get a small taste of what it's really like in Pacific Palisades right now. This is from just one neighborhood.

Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass promised to expedite construction after the Palisades Fire, to cut red tape and regulations. In… pic.twitter.com/xwWRTApjQH

— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) December 10, 2025

This is a long video but please watch to get a small taste of what it's really like in Pacific Palisades right now. This is from just one neighborhood.

Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass promised to expedite construction after the Palisades Fire, to cut red tape and regulations. In reality not only have they failed at that; they've failed to intervene in the insurance crisis that's prevented many from even starting the rebuild process. And that's not even taking into account all of the other failures that caused this fire and made it so destructive.

As we approach the one-year anniversary, Palisades residents still need help - and for state and local leaders to be held accountable.

Newsom and Bass were salivating at the chance to play Sim City with the burned-out regions, and despite their protestations to the contrary, I suspect that their goal is to get as many people as possible to give up on the idea of rebuilding so that they can create their own dream city where neighborhoods once stood. 

Should our taxpayer dollars pay for Gavin Newsom’s scheme to turn the Pacific Palisades into affordable housing? It’s not a conspiracy, it’s FACTS. pic.twitter.com/nA7yy1Bi4e

— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) December 10, 2025

When they say things about rebuilding better than ever, what they mean is rebuilding as they would like things to be, regardless of what citizens want. 

PACIFIC PALISADES, L.A.:

Walk with me as I show you the DISGUSTING lies from USELESS Karen Bass and Gavin Newsom over rebuilding L.A.

This is the so-called “first house,” permitted BEFORE the fire, built 11 MONTHS after Californians had their lives destroyed. What a disgrace. pic.twitter.com/8dZNEq3Sld

— steve hilton (@SteveHiltonx) December 8, 2025

I don't trust any of the numbers I see, but Google AI indicates that 1000 permits have been granted in the area, and many of those are for the same structures. You know: a permit for this, a permit for that...all on the same home. 

The "first home rebuilt" after the fire wasn't even a rebuild. It had been permitted prior to the fire, and it was for a property developer. 

In other words, it serves as a Potemkin home. 

Gavin Newsom has a non-zero chance of becoming President of the United States, and this is how he "governs." Democrats seem fine with that, and it drives me nearly insane that they truly believe this is how things should be. 

After all, Newsom is not Orange. 

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