Six months after the deadly Palisades Fire tore through more than 23,000 acres of land, destroying thousands of homes and businesses, the Los Angeles Fire Department announced Sunday that all evacuation orders for impacted zones have officially been lifted.
“Evacuation orders have been fully lifted for all zones affected by the Palisades Fire,” read LAFD’s alert. To view a map of the zones that fall within this order, click here.
These zones have been under an evacuation order since Jan. 7, the day the fire erupted and, fueled by an extreme Santa Ana wind event, tore through the coast of Southern California. Although residents were slowly allowed to begin repopulating the area within a few weeks following the fire, officials held the evacuation orders in place until now due to toxic and hazardous conditions in the area.
According to LAFD spokesperson Lyndsey Lantz, it was unclear if something specific happened on Sunday that prompted the order to be lifted, but health and fire officials recently reached a consensus that the zones have been fully cleared of the air and soil hazards that the EPA and other organizations found during cleanup.
“Up until this general point, it was a legitimately high danger area,” said Lantz. “But now the debris has been cleared and the area has been restored to normal status.”
Lantz also said that this means all traffic stops and residential pass requirements have been lifted, that people are free to come and go from the area. This announcement also came a little under a month after the major roads and highways were reopened, including the Pacific Coast Highway and Topanga Canyon Boulevard.
Residents began lining up to try to get back to their homes, or where their homes once were, within a week after the fire. Law enforcement provided escorts, and many evacuees waited for hours—some all day—to get a few minutes with what was left of their homes.
One family said they already learned the fate of their beloved property, but needed to see it in person for some level of closure.
As each resident or family passed through a checkpoint, they received an allotted amount of time to check on their properties, grab anything they could salvage, and then get back into their vehicles and leave the area before the 6 p.m. curfew.
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Plumes of smoke are seen as a brush fire burns in Pacific Palisafes, California on January 7, 2025. A fast-moving brushfire in a Los Angeles suburb burned buildings and sparked evacuations Tuesday as “life threatening” winds whipped the region. More than 200 acres (80 hectares) was burning in Pacific Palisades, a upscale spot with multi-million dollar homes in the Santa Monica Mountains, shuttering a key highway and blanketing the area with thick smoke. (Photo by David Swanson / AFP) (Photo by DAVID SWANSON/AFP via Getty Images) -
Plumes of smoke are seen as a brush fire burns in Pacific Palisades as seen from Santa Monica, California on January 7, 2025. (Getty Images) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
View of the Palisades Fire from LAX on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
Heavy smoke from a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades rises over the Pacific Coast Highway in Santa Monica, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
Smoke from a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades rises over the 405 freeway in Los Angeles on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope) -
An ALERTCalifornia camera view of a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles County. Jan. 7, 2024. (ALERTCalifornia) -
An ALERTCalifornia camera view of a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles County. Jan. 7, 2024. (ALERTCalifornia) -
A fire burning in Pacific Palisades is seen on Jan. 7, 2024. (ALERT California) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
A fire burning in Pacific Palisades is seen on Jan. 7, 2024. (ALERT California) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
A firefighter tries to extinguish a fire as it damages a property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope) -
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Governor Govin Newsom surveys the damage as the growing Palisades Fire prompts widspread evacuations on Jan. 7, 2025. (KTLA) -
Flames and smoke from the Pacific Palisades fire can be seen on the hills behind homes in Santa Monica, Calif. Tuesday Jan. 7, 2025 (Photo by /San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images) -
The Palisades Fire burns near homes amid a powerful windstorm on January 7, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Getty Images) -
Flames rise as the Palisades Fire advances on homes in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope) -
A residence burns as the Palisades Fire advances in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope) -
Water is dropped on the advancing Palisades Fire by helicopter in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope) -
Will Adams watches as flames from the Palisades Fire close in on his property in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope) -
A firefighter hoses down flames from the Palisades Fire in front of a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope) -
A massive bulldozer shoved abandoned vehicles near the Palisades Fire on Jan. 7, 2024. (KTLA) -
A vehicle in the 300 block of Paseo Miramar erupts in flames on Jan. 7, 2025. (TNLA) -
A vehicle in the 300 block of Paseo Miramar erupts in flames on Jan. 7, 2025. (TNLA) -
Flames seen behind firehouse 23 along Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7, 2025. (TNLA) -
The Palisades Fire burns a residence in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Etienne Laurent)
In the days that followed, officials urged evacuees to be patient, saying repopulation could not occur until all areas were deemed safe. “The conversation about repopulation is on all of our minds,” L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said. “Please be patient with us … we have people literally looking for the remains of your neighbors.”
As a result of the Palisades Fire, Cal Fire confirmed at least 12 civilian fatalities, as well as three civilian injuries and one firefighter injury.
Rebuilding efforts continue for communities affected by both the Palisades and Eaton fires. For more information on resources and how to find or give help, click here.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
