The Palisades Fire destroyed senior living communities, but many are determined to return

Rebuilding has been slow across the Pacific Palisades burn scar. According to Mayor Karen Bass’s office, nearly 400 homes are under construction in the Palisades, with plans approved for some 750 addresses.

That’s just a fraction of the nearly 7,000 buildings burned, but Bass said even slow progress should inspire hope.

“The Palisades community has endured an unimaginable year and my heart breaks for every family who will not be able to stay home this holiday season,” Bass said in an earlier statement.

Casa Gateway reopened in the fall, but only a third of all residents in the 68-unit building have returned, said Rockwell, president of the board of directors of the Casa Gateway Homeowners Association.

Rockwell said that despite the cool winter months, mosquitoes surround his home because of the standing water that permeates the walls.

Sandbags still line the building’s exterior, and a new lobby betrays the destruction caused by flooding and smoke. Rockwell said the mudslide was so thick in her apartment that she couldn’t open her front door.

Seven months of remediation at Casa Gateway included removing and replacing insulation, installing new floors in hallways and lobby, and painting lobbies and community spaces. The city removed about 6 inches of mud from the slides. The process also required irrigation repairs and replacement of exterior walls and tiles.

Now that she’s back home after waiting nearly seven months for repairs, Rockwell said her beloved neighborhood feels strange. Thousands of empty lots and storefronts line the once-bustling village of Palisades, which was teeming with shops, restaurants, schools and a movie theater.

“It’s so dark,” she said.