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The Infrastructure Restoration Plan is intended to provide a clear understanding of wildfire impacts and the technical strategies that can support long-term recovery after the Palisades Fire. It serves as a shared reference for residents, agencies, and partners working through the complexities of rebuilding and planning for a more resilient future. 

Many projects identified in this document are currently in preliminary stages of the project development process, and may still be pending funding, final approvals, and/or permitting. All projects are subject to change in scope, schedule, and cost until they are fully approved.  Some of the projects, strategies, and efforts described in this report may not be possible for the City to complete without additional funding from the Federal and State governments as well as philanthropy, which may or may not be forthcoming.

Purpose of the Infrastructure Restoration Plan (IRP)

Infographic outlining the five purposes of the Pacific Palisades Infrastructure Restoration Plan: documenting existing conditions, recommending phased rebuilding, identifying hazard mitigation opportunities, evaluating rebuilding strategies, and delivering a phased restoration plan.

The IRP’s purpose is to provide:  

  • A clear understanding of the damage to power, water, wastewater, stormwater, telecom, streets, natural infrastructure, and public facilities. 

  • A structured approach to restoration sequencing to limit conflicts between agencies and reduce redundant work.

  • A set of prioritized strategies for improving safety, reliability, and future resilience as rebuilding occurs. 

  • A framework for multi-agency coordination across partners participating in the recovery effort. 

The IRP is an informational and planning tool— not a funding document —and outlines strategies that depend on future resources, interagency coordination, and ongoing project development. 

​​​Summary of Damage Assessment Findings

Isometric illustration of two workers installing and managing electrical cables inside an underground utility vault, with a traffic cone nearby, representing power and communications infrastructure work.

Power & Communications

Assessments identified widespread impacts to electrical and telecommunications infrastructure, including significant destruction of electric service points, damage to ​     ​power poles, and telecom system interruptions requiring temporary solutions.

Isometric illustration of a technician repairing large utility pipes with a wrench and toolbox, representing water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure work.

Water, Sewer & Stormwater

The fire affected both public and parcel-level systems, with dozens of septic systems damaged and many individual service connections requiring replacement. Stormwater facilities also experienced debris impacts​​​​.

Isometric illustration of two workers in safety gear using jackhammers to break up pavement near utility infrastructure, with a traffic cone nearby, representing streets and public spaces restoration work.

Streets & Public Spaces

Damage was recorded across hundreds of street segments, including curbs, sidewalks, streetlights, traffic signals, and signage, as well as the urban forest, with a substantial number of fire-damaged trees needing removal, monitoring, or replanting.

Isometric illustration of a worker in safety gear using a string trimmer to clear vegetation along a curb, with traffic cones nearby, representing hillside and natural area vegetation management efforts.

Hillsides & Natural Areas

More than half of the area’s slopes burned at moderate or high severity. Resulting conditions increased susceptibility to soil erosion, debris flows, and landslides. ​

Three-Tier Restoration Framework

Diagram illustrating the Three-Tier Restoration Framework with two rows: the top row shows the Phased Recovery Framework across three phases — Emergency Response Short-Term Recovery, Infrastructure Restoration Mid-Term Recovery, and Long-Term Recovery — and the bottom row shows the corresponding Tiered Restoration Stages, from immediate life-safety and access needs through essential residential and commercial corridors to long-term improvements and resilience upgrades.

The IRP outlines a three-tier approach—adapted from FEMA’s post-disaster recovery structure—to help organize work and reduce conflicts between concurrent projects.  

Tier 1: Emergency Stabilization (Completed at the Time of Study)  

Activities included clearing debris and hazardous vegetation, ​​restoring limited emergency access, and implementing early slope protection measures. These actions addressed immediate safety concerns.

Tier 2: Restoration of Essential Services (Ongoing)  

This tier focuses on reconnecting utilities to rebuilt homes, repairing key transportation corridors, reestablishing stormwater capacity, and coordinating trenching activities to reduce repeated disruptions. The timing of Tier 2 work depends on individual rebuild timelines, utility needs, and available resources.

Tier 3: Long-Term Resilience and Modernization (Ongoing)

Tier 3 describes potential strategies to strengthen infrastructure conditions over the long term, such as undergrounding select utilities where feasible, modernizing electrical and water systems, expanding stormwater and drainage capacity, restoring native vegetation to stabilize slopes, and coordinating future work through joint-trench construction where practical. Implementation of Tier 3 concepts will require additional funding, interagency coordination, and further project development. 

Coordinated Sequencing

Diagram showing the preferred order of operations for infrastructure construction, sequencing work from underground utilities — including gravity fluid utilities, deep trench wire lines, pressurized fluid utilities, and shallow trench wire lines — through surface work such as major earthwork, enclosure concrete, base course asphalt, non-enclosure concrete, large plantings, and finishes, culminating in the final asphalt wearing course, with overhead utilities and traffic signals addressed in parallel.

A major purpose of the IRP is to outline how infrastructure work should be sequenced to avoid rework and reduce community impacts. 

The recommended order is:

  1. Deep utility work
  2. Pressurized and gravity utility work
  3. Shallow utility installations
  4. Surface improvements (paving and concrete)
  5. Tree planting and landscape restoration

This approach minimizes conflicts and extends the useful life of completed surface improvements. The IRP also includes tools for identifying schedule conflicts and coordinating agency timelines.

Key Takeaways

Infographic highlighting three key takeaways from the Infrastructure Restoration Plan: Completed Emergency Response, describing Tier 1 stabilization efforts that protected public safety and restored critical services; Active Community Recovery, detailing Tier 2 restoration progress including utility, water, sewer, and roadway rehabilitation; and Transformational Modernization, outlining Tier 3 investments through 2035 to establish Pacific Palisades as a model for climate-adaptive urban infrastructure.
  • The IRP summarizes damage, needs, and strategies across all major infrastructure systems.
  • Restoration will require multiple agencies, iterative coordination, and adjustments over time.
  • Many long-term improvements depend on future funding and approvals.
  • The plan provides technical guidance, not commitments, for how work can be sequenced and organized to support a safer, more resilient rebuilt community.