Many businesses are still without a home three months after the devastating California wildfires. Flames damaged or destroyed more than 16,000 structures in January, with no timeline for when they will be rebuilt.
When the fires tore through the Palisades earlier this year, they didn’t just burn homes, they also altered livelihoods in the community.
But, many people who work and live in the Palisades aren’t accepting defeat. Instead, they’re adapting to their new routines.
“We closed up the store, never thinking it was going to come into the town, and none of us came back after that. So we left with nothing,” said Elyse Walker VIP Stylist Molly Rabuchin.
Molly Rabuchin has been working at Elyse Walker for 18 years. The flagship for the clothing store was built in 1999.
But on January 7, the shop burned down.
“It was heart-breaking. It’s been sort of a staple of the Palisades…and for over 20 years, we’ve had repeat clients, and it was like a family,” said Rabuchin.
The store has two other branches in Southern California, and the team at Elyse Walker is turning January’s devastation into new opportunities.
“I think it’s making us get creative, so we’re doing more pop-ups…and also contributing to charity and doing a charity twist, so it’s making us sell in a different way,” said Rabuchin.
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For others, the workload actually increased.
“Getting properties, getting paperwork ready, getting permits, and then coming in, separating different types of debris from one another, loading it all up, hauling it all off, just over and over and over again,” said Hart Built Construction Owner Chuck Hart.
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Chuck Hart is a private contractor from the Palisades. He’s been on scene since day one to rebuild his community.
“It’s literally been nonstop – before the sun’s up to after the sun’s down every day,” said Hart.
Hart already has 12 projects signed up and ready to rebuild.
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“And then we have a long list of people that say that they want to work with us,” said Hart.
He’s like many other Palisadians who say they just want their community back the way it was.
“Hopefully what’s going to happen is everyone is going to come together, and it’s not going to look too different from what it looked before, because I’m not interested in some high rise here, and then here, no,” said Hart.
Along with private contractors like Hart, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has more than 100 crews out in the Palisades removing debris. There’s no timeline yet for when that will be complete.
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