Malibu sues state, LA city, county over Palisades fire

LOS ANGELES — The city of Malibu sued the state and the city and county of Los Angeles and other entities on Wednesday, accusing them of various failures that led to the start and proliferation of the Palisades fire that destroyed hundreds of Malibu homes along with municipal facilities and infrastructure.

“This decision was not made lightly,” Malibu Mayor Bruce Silverstein said in a written statement announcing the lawsuit. “The city has an obligation to act in the best interests of our residents and taxpayers. The lawsuit seeks accountability for the extraordinary losses suffered by our community while recognizing that Malibu must continue to work collaboratively with our regional partners going forward.”

The lawsuit contends that the Palisades fire, which erupted Jan. 7, 2025, in what investigators contend was a flare-up of a blaze known as the Lachman fire that began a week earlier, killed at least six Malibu residents and destroyed 700 homes and dozens of businesses in the city.

The fire left the city “devoid of the vibrant community it once enjoyed,” the lawsuit contends. “Indeed, to date — more than one year after the Palisades fire — the city of Malibu is still reeling from the destruction it left in its wake: a hollowed out community, burned and destroyed buildings and homes, a shrinking tax base, emotionally and physically scarred citizens, and untold environmental damage.”

The suit accuses the state Department of Parks and Recreation of negligently maintaining dangerous conditions on state-owned land where the Lachman fire originally began and continued smoldering until Santa Ana winds caused it to explode into the massive Palisades fire.

The lawsuit also levels a series of accusations against the city of Los Angeles and its Department of Water and Power.

“The Palisades fire was also the foreseeable and proximate result of conscious and deliberate policy decisions by the city of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to leave reservoirs empty for over a year, fail to provide for the maintenance of essential firefighting infrastructure, and adopt a cost-saving approach that shifted risk onto surrounding communities, including Plaintiff.”

The Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. City officials said they are hoping to recover costs associated with the emergency response, infrastructure repair, environmental restoration and lost revenues.

One of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history, the Palisades fire burned 23,448 acres and destroyed much of the exclusive Pacific Palisades community, destroying about 6,800 structures and killing 12 people.