Pacific Palisades Is Gone. Up Close and on the Ground It’s Even Worse

A photo essay covering the gut-wrenching devastation of flattened neighborhoods and charred storefronts

Burned out cafe in Pacific Palisades village. Photo by Sharon Waxman

On Wednesday, walking through the abandoned Palisades village with tables and tall metal heaters tossed about by the wind like children’s toys, a female voice eerily sounds over a loudspeaker: “A fire has been detected. Please leave the Village immediately.” A not-unpleasant bell sounds several times before she repeats the announcement. 

I feel certain I’ve seen this before – in a movie.  

The upscale outdoor Village mall with everything from Lululemon to Yves St Laurent to Erewhon market — where you can get a pressed juice for a mere $16 – is half intact. YSL is fine. But across the street another unidentifiable store is a blackened hulk.

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