Last week, California Governor Gavin Newsom blamed the slow rebuilding of the Pacific Palisades on climate change, telling an audience, "In my state, which is one of the most blessed and cursed states as it relates to climate," Newsom said, complete with his weird hand gestures, "We're on the tip of the spear of climate change."
This is meant to deflect not only from his failures in mitigating wildfires by clearing brush and filling water reservoirs, but from the fact that his government and its burdensome policies are hindering the rebuilding process.
And it turns out the number of Californians still living in temporary housing is astronomically high, even after millions in aid and fundraising.
🚨 BREAKING: Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass are being SLAMMED after it was confirmed a whopping 75 PERCENT of Palisades fire victims still live in temporary housing.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 15, 2025
Absolutely horrendous. It's been almost A FULL YEAR.
Victims are furious.
Other victims in temporary… pic.twitter.com/CKH2IoHW0t
On November 13, Jessica Rogers, president of the Pacific Palisades Residents Association, and others were part of a U.S. Senate Committee Hearing on the Palisades fire. Led by Senators Rick Scott (R-FL) and Ron Johnson (R-WI).
Rogers, who is also a geriatric social worker, said, "I'm here today to speak about the catastrophic failures that endangered our most vulnerable residents on January 7, the ongoing abandonment we continue to experience, and why we need federal intervention."
"As I ran through my house gathering belongings, I kept checking my phone for alerts from local governments. Nothing came. It wasn't until 12:30 pm, nearly two hours after the fire started, that I received a notice to prepare for potential evacuation," Rogers said.
That mandatory order didn't come until 5:00 pm, long after houses on Rogers' street were lost to the flames.
Johnson and Scott have opened an investigation into the Pacific Palisades fire and the slow rebuilding response.