Inside considered one of Pacific Palisades’ final standing malls after billionaire developer who ran in opposition to beneath fireplace mayor Karen Bass saved it from LA fireplace
Eerie footage has offered a peak inside one of Pacific Palisades’ few surviving structures after the apocalyptic Los Angeles fires almost wiped the city off the map.
Billionaire developer Rick Caruso‘s Palisades Village Mall was directly in the path of the Palisades fire, which has already burned through 23,713 acres of prime southern California real estate, destroyed 5,000 structures and killed at least eight people.
But the quick thinking businessman, who ran against embattled mayor Karen Bass for the job in 2022 and is worth an estimated $5.8billion, hired a convoy of private firefighters and water tankers to protect his mall.
Jarring video shows that Monument Street, where the mall is located, has been cut down the middle.
On one side of the now-abandoned street there is nothing but debris, ash and rubble where million-dollar homes once stood, juxtaposed by the relatively unscathed mall on the other side of the road.
A Starbucks directly across from Palisades Village was entirely destroyed in the fire, along with most other structures in the area.
But Caruso’s privately hired team managed to save the mall, which now resembles a ghost town amid mandatory evacuation orders for the region.
Fire crews for hire can cost between $3,000 and $10,000 a day and are mostly contracted with insurance companies or the government.
Eerie footage has offered a peak inside one of Pacific Palisades’ few surviving structures after the apocalyptic Los Angeles fires almost wiped the city off the map
The quick thinking businessman, who ran against embattled mayor Karen Bass for the job in 2022 and is worth an estimated $5.8billion, hired a convoy of private firefighters and water tankers to protect his mall
The mall was spared while much of Pacific Palisades was reduced to rubble
Much of Pacific Palisades was reduced to rubble during the tragedy
‘Our property is standing,’ Mr. Caruso told the New York Times. ‘Everything around us is gone. It is like a war zone.’
Now, National Guard members are keeping guard outside the designer stores to prevent looting.
The businesses – including Erewhon, Saint Laurent, Reformation and Lululemon – remain closed as the clean-up begins.
Caruso served as Commissioner for the L.A. Department of Water and Power and has been highly critical of Bass for her handling of the crisis.
‘This is an absolute mismanagement by the city and I’m going to be very honest, we’ve got a mayor that’s out of the country and we’ve got a city that’s burning,’ he said the night the fires broke out.
Caruso said two of his children’s houses were destroyed in the inferno.
‘This was a disaster waiting to happen and what’s predictable is preventable and who’s paying the price is all these people and their homes tonight.’
‘It looks like we’re in a third-world country here.’
Jarring video shows that Monument Street has been cut down the middle. On one side of the street there is nothing but debris, ash and rubble where million-dollar homes once stood, juxtaposed by the relatively unscathed mall on the other side of the road
The mall was saved by privately hired firefighters and water tanks
The Palisades Fire descends upon a liquor store in Pacific Palisades
Large swathes of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood were destroyed
When the fires erupted, Bass halfway around the globe, on a trip to Ghana as part of a presidential delegation. She had been warned before departing of the critical fire threat.
As her city faced its greatest crisis in decades, the first-term mayor confronted a critical test of her leadership two years after taking office.
She has since faced calls to step down amid widespread fury about her handling of the crisis.
Caruso and his wife this week pledged $5million to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation.
‘The devastation to our city and community is unthinkable,’ he said in an X post.
‘The colossal efforts of our Los Angeles Fire Department cannot be overstated, and lives, homes, and businesses have been saved thanks to their unwavering commitment to fighting a good fight.
‘But this fight is far from over. Due to budget deficits in the Los Angeles Fire Department, which left them under-resourced, the inconceivable has become reality.
‘Los Angeles Fire Chief Crowley and her team of firefighters and paramedics are desperately in need of funding.
The California National Guard is stationed across the region
Caruso (right) ran against embattled mayor Karen Bass (left) for the job in 2022
The Palisades Fire – the largest of the three blazes ripping through Los Angeles – ignited on January 7 has scorched 23,713 acres
‘Today, Tina and I pledge $5 million to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, to be used at its discretion, so that Chief Crowley and her team can continue their heroic work across the City and the greater Los Angeles area.
Four fires have burned through 40,000 acres across the most affluent neighborhoods in LA, with A-list celebrity homes and restaurant hotspots among the 12,300 structures wiped out.
The Los Angeles medical examiner updated the death count on Sunday afternoon, revealing 24 people are now confirmed dead as a result of the two largest fires.
But dozens more are unaccounted for as evacuees locked out of their suburbs face an anxious wait to return home and see what – if anything – remains.
With cadaver dogs now being brought in to locate human remains, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna has warned the death toll will likely continue to rise.
‘The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office and the Los Angeles County Fire Department [are] using cadaver dogs, doing grid searches,’ he said.
