Months after deadly wildfires wreaked havoc on Southern California cities, hundreds of people remain homeless, with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass reportedly showing no hurry to rebuild.

Cal Fire claimed that more than 12,000 homes, businesses, and schools had been destroyed by fires, and more than 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes since the January fires.

According to City of Los Angeles officials, only 23 permits for 16 locations have been issued to reconstruct homes that have been demolished or damaged in the upscale enclave of Pacific Palisades.

“The first rebuilding permit was issued on March 5, 2025, by the LA Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) – 57 days after the start of the Palisades Fire and more than twice as fast as permits were issued after the devastating Camp and Woolsey fires,” stated officials from the city.

As of April 22, LADBS reported receiving 192 permit applications for significant fire damage repair or reconstruction at 156 unique addresses in the Palisades, where the Palisades Fire damaged or destroyed 5,619 structures, including 5,495 residential homes.

“Mayor Bass has worked to expedite the rebuilding process so that, when property owners are ready, LADBS can issue permits as quickly as possible,” according to city representatives.

Just four days after his inauguration, President Donald Trump proclaimed the wildfires a national emergency while visiting California to see the devastation.

During his visit, Trump held a roundtable discussion with Bass and state officials, at one point criticising Bass for failing to use her emergency powers to combat the flames.

“You have emergency powers just like I do … you have to exercise them also,” Trump told Bass, who acknowledged that she did.

Trump then promised to execute an executive order to open the water valves in the area.

“I don’t think you can realise how rough, how devastating it is until you see it,” Trump said of the wildfire destruction. “The federal government is standing behind you, 100%.”

Trump also said that he will waive federal permits for rebuilding in the area.

“I’m going to be the president to help you fix it,” he joked. “We will waive all federal permits. Because obtaining a government authorisation can take ten years, we do not want to wait ten days.”

Bass’s Executive Order 1, issued less than a week after the wildfires, reportedly eliminated red tape and “directed City departments to complete permitting review in 30 days or less for rebuilding homes as they were.”

“LADBS is currently completing plan check reviews in around 6 days, which is twice as quickly as before the wildfires. Mayor Bass also directed the establishment of the One-Stop Rebuilding Centre, which will serve as a centralised resource for citizens and business owners to access all of the city’s rebuilding resources,” according to city officials.

Bass’ office forwarded queries to LADBS.

California Assembly Leader James Gallagher told Fox News Digital that while Trump has kept his half of the deal for cleanup efforts, California politicians have failed to deliver.

“When President Trump visited Los Angeles in January, he promised to cut the red tape and urged California politicians to do the same. “He followed with the fastest debris cleanup we’ve ever seen, but California hasn’t kept its end of the bargain,” Gallagher said.

“Permits are slow, and the bureaucracy is large. [Gov.] Gavin Newsom and Democrats can’t get out of their own way and provide for fire victims,” he said.

Liz Benichou, a Malibu real estate agent and lifelong resident of the neighbourhood, told Fox News Digital that she is “not surprised” that there has been little improvement since the fires.

“Only 55 homes have been rebuilt since the Woolsey fire in Malibu, and that was in 2018,” according to Benichou.

According to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office, the City of Los Angeles is “responsible for and has legal jurisdiction for reviewing and approving permits for homes in the Pacific Palisades,” while the state “has no formal role in the local permitting processes.”

The governor’s office stated that the state has been doing “since the immediate days after the fire ignited” to remove barriers and cut red tape that prevent households from rebuilding fast and safely.