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Home / News / Fire / Trump to ‘open the coffers’ as Palisades Fire containment reaches 81%

Trump to ‘open the coffers’ as Palisades Fire containment reaches 81%

President Donald Trump, third from left, walks with first lady Melania Trump and local officials through a fire-ravaged neighborhood in Pacific Palisades.
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Firefighters achieved 81% containment Saturday of the deadly Palisades Fire, which has burned 23,448 acres and caused the deaths of at least 11 people since it erupted Jan. 7 amid fierce Santa Ana winds.

A chance of rain forecast through Monday prompted a flash flood watch warning for 4 p.m. Sunday through 4 p.m. Monday, according to Cal Fire.

A red flag warning indicating critical fire danger that was in effect since Monday for much of the Los Angeles County expired Friday at 10 a.m.

The fire has destroyed over 6,800 structures and damaged approximately 1,000, officials said. One firefighter and three civilians were injured.

President Donald Trump mentioned the LA wildfires in his inaugural address Monday and visited a devastated Pacific Palisades neighborhood Friday afternoon with Los Angeles Fire Department personnel and three area residents. He promised to “open the coffers” of the federal government and cut red tape to speed up rebuilding.

“We’re going to have a big celebration soon,” Trump said. “We’re going to come back, and we’ll come back as much as you need. And we’re going to turn it around and we’re going to open the coffers, you know America wants this to be taken care of.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom, at left, shakes hands Friday with President Donald Trump at LAX. | Photo courtesy of Gavin Newsom/X

Gov. Gavin Newsom greeted Trump at Los Angeles International Airport.

“We welcome President Trump to California with an open hand,” Newsom said in a statement Friday. “Just as President Trump supported California during the pandemic, we will work together again for firestorm survivors and communities across Los Angeles who deserve all the help they can get from federal, state and local governments.”

Commenting on the hard-to-fathom extent of the Palisades Fire’s devastation that he observed both on the ground and from the air on the fight into the area, Trump said, “I don’t think you can realize how rough it is, how devastating it is until you see it. I didn’t realize. I saw a lot of bad things on television, but the extent of it, the size of it. … It’s incredible, it’s really an incineration. Even some of the chimneys came down. When you have chimneys come down you know that’s pretty hot stuff and a lot of them were down.”

In a meeting with local, state and congressional officials after the neighborhood tour, Trump said “the federal government is standing behind you 100%,” observing that the fires are “already the most expensive natural disaster, they say, in American history.”

The president vowed to “essentially waive all federal permits,” noting that the permitting process can often hold up projects for long time periods, and he asked local authorities for assurances that local permitting also be expedited or waived.

LA Mayor Karen Bass told Trump expedited permitting was in effect.

Newsom in a statement said crews were deployed “across the region to protect against potential mudslides from the rains expected this weekend. We’re not out of the woods but the people of Los Angeles should know we’re not leaving your side.”

Residents in a number of locations in the fire zone were allowed to return to their homes on Thursday and Friday, officials said. Updated information on evacuations and other fire-related topics is at fire.ca.gov/incidents/2025/1/7/palisades-fire.

County health officials were providing personal protective gear to returning residents.

A curfew remains in effect every night from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. in areas under evacuation orders in the Palisades and Eaton fire zones. Only firefighters, utility workers and law enforcement personnel are allowed access.

Authorities have reported dozens of arrests for alleged looting, burglaries and curfew violations since the fires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena began Jan. 7.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported that as of Thursday morning, over 8,400 customers were without power in Pacific Palisades, mainly in locations where workers are unable to safely access homes or where it is unsafe to reactivate power lines. Customers may call 800-342-5397 to check the status of power restoration.

The Southern California Gas Co. halted natural gas service to around 13,600 customers in the fire zone for safety reasons. On Thursday SoCalGas reported service was restored for 4,925 of those customers.

Gas Co. representatives are available to assist customers 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the FEMA Disaster Recovery Center at UCLA Research Park West, 10850 Pico Blvd.

Los Angeles County officials said updated damage assessments are viewable at recocery.lacounty.gov/palisades-fire.

Personnel fighting the Palisades Fire totaled 2,149 Saturday morning, according to Cal Fire.

The blaze started Jan. 7 around 10:30 a.m. near Piedra Morada and Monte Hermoso drives during a historic windstorm-turned-firestorm with gusts as high as 80 mph.

The fire’s cause was under investigation.

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