ABC7 helps Palisades Fire victim get power at rebuilt home

Pacific Palisades fire survivor Jack Nguyen credits ABC7 On Your Side after its reporting helped get LADWP to schedule electricity at his rebuilt home. Weeks of delays left the family on limited power; once the ABC7 story aired, he landed on the install calendar, regained service, and heard from Mayor Karen Bass.

Key Takeaways

• Jack Nguyen says an ABC7 On Your Side report pushed LADWP to put his rebuilt Pacific Palisades home on the power installation schedule.
• He lived in the new house without full power for two days after weeks of waiting and temporary, limited electricity.
• Neighbors have reported waits of up to seven weeks for utility restoration after rebuilding from the Palisades Fire.
• Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called Nguyen after the ABC7 story and said she would help with DWP issues going forward.
• LADWP has said restoring power remains a priority; ABC7 reported the utility was still preparing a fuller statement.

What happened when ABC7 got involved?

When Jack Nguyen's family was ready to move into their newly rebuilt Pacific Palisades home, they still needed the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to turn on regular electricity. After getting nowhere with the utility, they contacted ABC7 On Your Side.

Out of every hurdle Nguyen faced after the Palisades Fire, waiting on LADWP for power at a finished rebuild was not supposed to be one of them. "We have been through hell, literally, and you would think that if anything, the bureaucracy would be shortened," he told ABC7. Instead, he said the process felt even harder.

Nguyen said some neighbors were waiting seven weeks for power. That kind of delay turns a certificate of occupancy into a hollow milestone: the house is "done," but daily life is not.

According to ABC7 Los Angeles, once its earlier story aired about 10 days before the follow-up report, Nguyen finally got onto LADWP's installation schedule and now has power. He still spent two days living in the rebuilt home without full service.

"It was a relief because we had waited weeks and weeks for some sort of response," Nguyen said. "It feels like we're home." While renting in West L.A., he said it never felt like home, and the family was desperate to return. They are among the first rebuilds to move back.

Why does power delay matter after a wildfire rebuild?

Rebuilding after a wildfire is meant to close a painful chapter. In Pacific Palisades, some survivors say another barrier remains: not enough electricity to live normally in homes they already rebuilt.

An earlier report summarized by Yahoo News, drawing on ABC7's prior coverage, said Nguyen's longtime home was destroyed in the January 2025 wildfires. The family received a certificate of occupancy a couple of weeks before that earlier story, yet regular utility service still had not been turned on.

Nguyen blamed LADWP and said the department had not responded to his concerns since the beginning of July. The house was running on temporary power that supported only limited basic use—not normal everyday living. The family's rental lease ended July 21, so they moved in anyway despite the limited electricity.

"Why are they making it so difficult for Palisadians to come back?" Nguyen asked ABC7 in that earlier report. If a certificate of occupancy arrives, he argued, utilities should follow within a few days—especially after a disaster.

The delay was not only about charging phones. Nguyen told ABC7 his household has two cars that require electricity, so limited service also hits transportation and work routines. For survivors already carrying rebuild costs, temporary housing rent, and utility limbo, every extra week of delay stretches household budgets—issues readers also track in our Wealth Hacks & Passive Income coverage on protecting cash flow when life gets expensive.

Yahoo's write-up noted other homeowners have struggled to get service activated after finishing rebuilds, and some fear delays could worsen as more homes come online in the coming months. In a statement cited there, LADWP said "restoring power remains a priority."

How did city leaders respond after the ABC7 story?

After ABC7's story aired, Nguyen also received a phone call from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. He said she wanted to hear about his situation and about responsiveness for the Palisades. According to Nguyen, she said she would help with DWP issues going forward and asked him to flag any future problems.

During that call, Nguyen raised a wider worry: if one early returnee struggles to re-energize a finished home, what happens when dozens more Palisades rebuilds are complete in the months ahead?

ABC7 said it reached out to LADWP about efforts to get Palisades Fire victims home as quickly as possible, and that the utility was working on providing a statement. The follow-up piece still centered on Nguyen's credit to the station for breaking the logjam in his case.

"I credit you guys, because without your story, I'm not sure we would be sitting right here in this comfortable AC having this conversation," Nguyen told ABC7. "Your news story clearly lit a fire under the appropriate people."

What should wildfire survivors watch for next?

Nguyen's experience shows a rebuild is not finished when the walls go up. Certificate of occupancy, temporary power, and permanent LADWP service can arrive on different timelines—and local reporting can change how fast agencies respond.

Survivors and neighbors watching the next wave of Palisades completions may want to document request dates, keep certificates and lease end dates handy, and escalate early if temporary power cannot support EV charging, refrigeration, or cooling. Nguyen's case also shows that spotlighting delays—as ABC7 On Your Side did—can move a stalled install onto a live schedule.

Mayor Bass's outreach suggests city hall is at least hearing individual cases. Whether that scales as dozens more homes finish remains the open question Nguyen put to officials. For now, his family has AC, a working schedule from LADWP, and a clear message: without the ABC7 story, he is not sure they would be living normally in the rebuilt house yet.

As more California wildfire survivors return to rebuilt addresses, the gap between "home ready" and "power on" may define how quickly communities stabilize. Nguyen's credit to ABC7 is a reminder that persistent advocacy—and accountable local news—still matters when bureaucracy outlasts the flames.