Residents of Pacific Palisades are furious and insulted after owners whose homes burned down in the deadly fires last year received brush clearance fines from the city.
“This is insulting and cruel. We have no house and we have no brush,” Carol Sandborn, a resident who lost her home of 40 years, wrote in red ink on the invoice and sent it back to the city. “I was a little astonished.”
LA Fire Department brush fines are penalties issued to property owners in high-risk zones who fail to clear hazardous vegetation, ensuring critical defensible space to slow the spread of wildfires.
Residents say the fire department never inspected their properties — which are under construction — and that they do not intend on paying the fines as a matter of “principle,” Fox 11 reported. The bills show a charge of $31 for alleged non-compliance.
“It’s one final blow, you know, after they screwed us over, they’re still trying to take money,” another resident told the network. “$31 is nothing, but you know I’m not paying it. This is the principle of it.”
Several other people have gotten a notice, and many are angry. The mayor’s office said it is working with the fire department to look into what happened.
The California Post called the number listed on the bills, but the call went straight to voicemail, and the inbox was full. Neither a message could be left nor a department representative reached by phone to dispute the charge or ask for clarification.
“It’s disappointing to get something like this and feel that somehow the city is working against you instead of with you,” Sandborn noted.
The mayor’s office later called the fines “unacceptable.” The LAFD were contacted for comment but did not immediately respond.
“No resident who lost their homes in the Palisades fire should receive this charge,” she said in a statement. “The Mayor’s office is in contact with the LAFD to determine next steps.”
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