‘Malibu Forward’: A year later, Malibu residents gather to mourn losses and look to a brighter future in fire’s wake

On the first anniversary of the Palisades fire, Malibu residents gathered Wednesday to remember their losses, find strength in community, listen to poetry and to share hugs and memories of their homes.

Entering City Hall, Malibu residents streamed down a hallway lined with photographs of first responders during the Palisades fire, moments captured of sheriff’s deputies and firefighters battling the flames, charred uniforms and badges found in ash, as part of a display honoring first responders.

“Malibu Strong” and “Pali Strong” hats dotted the crowd.

In Malibu, the Palisades fire scorched the area just a month after the December 2024 Franklin fire had blazed through, striking a still reeling city with a second round of devastating flames.

Five of the 12 Palisades fire deaths happened in Malibu, with two others in nearby Topanga. These lives lost are the central reason to gather, Sheriff Robert Luna said.

“The reason I am up here is that seven lives, the seven neighbors we lost,” Luna said. “For anyone who lost a home, a business, a pet, that is why I am here tonight.”

The “lifeline” of Pacific Coast Highway, as Malibu Mayor Marianne Riggins calls it, was drenched in heavy rains shortly after the fire and faced extended closures, cutting the town off from access points typically heavily trafficked by tourists. Businesses struggled with restricted access, visitors slowed and daily life for residents was made difficult, she said.

“Malibu Forward” was the phrase of the night, emblazoned on hats and tote bags, and a key theme spoken of throughout— how Malibu, an area deeply dependent on visitors for business survival, will rebuild from the fires and infrastructure struggle.

“I have watched this community face wildfires before, and I have watched it endure,” Riggins, a lifelong Malibu resident, said.

Calls for the permitting of rebuilds elicited claps from the audience.

While it is named for where the fire began, the fire ultimately affected many communities alongside the Palisades, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath noted, specifically acknowledging the particular pain felt in the city of Malibu, where recovery has been complicated in the wake of the Franklin fire, Palisades fire and repeated closures of roads integral for access to the coastal community.

“Let the worst bring out the best,” says a quote from journalist Bob Schieffer Luna shared with the crowd. This encapsulates what he saw in the wake of the fire, with sheriff’s deputies and the other first responders of Los Angeles, he said.

“I saw, I witnessed the best that all of Malibu, all of Altadena, and realistically all of L.A. County has to offer,” he said.

The Malibu Senior Choir took the stage to perform “What the World Needs Now is Love” with the crowd singing along to the ballad.

Charlotte Ward, Malibu’s poet laureate, spoke with the hopes of healing via the rhythm and rhyme of poetry. Her words chronicled the winter day the Palisades fire began, ending on a hopeful note: “Now, promise evokes a new meridian.”

Lingering around City Hall, residents greeted one another, one still pondering if a rebuild is realistic for her and her husband at their ages, another speaking of her goal to be back in Malibu by next Christmas.