Then and Now: An aerial comparison of Palisades fire aftermath nearly 1 year later

One year after the Palisades fire, the relentless vision of blackened ruins has given way to a changing landscape.

It’s something different – something unfinished, but a new canvas for towns eager to get back to something normal.

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No doubt it’s been slow — starts and stops, triumphs and disappointments in the recovery of the landscapes in the fire-torched zones in and around the Palisades and Altadena. Reminders of what ignited on Jan. 7 remain.

But now that burned-out parcels have been cleared, and pockets of re-building have begun, it’s often through the lenses of photojournalists that you can see the contrasts between then and now – between a January of darkness and a subsequent December of hope.

It will be a long road, as residents, leaders and public officials, have noted. Thousands have yet to even apply for building permits. And there’s much concern about preserving the character of beloved communities.

But frame by frame, day by day, the “then and now” picture has emerged one year later. It’s an unfinished picture, but one that will keep us coming back for years, to witness a visual evolution from those terrible days in January 2025.

— SCNG Photo Editor Dean Musgrove, with photos by Jeff Gritchenhttps://youtu.be/PbT4XSt0UAo