More than a year after a Los Angeles fire destroyed homes, residents are still waiting for debris removal

While the deadly Palisades and Eaton Fires captured national attention in January 2025, a much smaller blaze destroyed two homes in the Studio City hills. More than 18 months later, neighbors are still waiting for one of those properties to be cleaned up — and they say they are angry the city did not step in sooner.

The Sunswept Fire broke out in Studio City just one day after the Palisades and Eaton Fires, at a time when Los Angeles was already on edge. The blaze destroyed two homes on Vanetta Place.

Although the fire has been out for more than a year and a half, the destruction remains at one of the properties.

"It's pretty depressing," one neighbor said about living next to the burned-out home.

Several neighbors told CBS LA that they have complained to the city as the months have passed without a cleanup.

"From where I live, I look at it every day because I look out my window and I see it," one neighbor said.

Residents are concerned that the property could pose health and safety risks. They worry about possible asbestos and lead contamination, as well as a burned electric vehicle that remains in the driveway.

"When the winds come in, the rains come in, you have things running off from this home, things are blowing off," one neighbor said. "You have this big structure right there that at any moment feels like it could be coming down, falling on someone, a city worker, anyone who's using this street."

Jen Stanley, a mother of two, moved back into her home this summer. She lives next door to the two properties that burned. She said she has watched the damaged structure deteriorate.

"We can see the roofline every day," Stanley said. "It's like the roof is constantly collapsing further. Debris is falling into the street."

The home is now in foreclosure, and neighbors say it has been a constant battle to determine who is responsible for cleaning it up.

One neighbor said the response from the city has repeatedly been that the property owner must address the problem.

"That's the response that I've personally received three times from the city," the neighbor said.

Stanley said the city's response to her concerns has been, "We're working on it."

CBS California Investigates contacted the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. The department did not respond for a month.

Then, just days after CBS LA began asking questions, the city said it had approved a contract for demolition and testing for asbestos and lead.

The city now said it will clean up the property, which residents fear could contain hazardous materials they and their families have been living in since the day after the Palisades and Eaton Fires.

"Clearing fire debris is absolutely a priority for the City," Mayor Karen Bass' office said. "The Sunswept Fire was a structure fire, and the property owner's failure to clear this site and abate this nuisance is unacceptable."

Her office said since the owner failed to comply, LADBS has stepped in and "completed asbestos removal and is now in the process of obtaining a contractor to complete demolition."

Neighbors said they are relieved the city is moving forward but frustrated that it took so long.

"Being ignored for 18 months seems pretty unreasonable to me," one neighbor said.

The city said the delay was due to time given to the property owner to resolve a code violation for failing to properly clean up the property.

Once a notice of noncompliance was issued, LADBS said it was able to solicit bids from contractors. For neighbors, however, the delay meant their concerns about health and safety remained unresolved while the city worked through its process.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who represents Studio City, called the delay "inexcusable."

"For eighteen months, residents have been forced to live next to a burned-out structure that LADBS itself identified as an imminent hazard," Raman said in an email to CBS LA.

She said her office had been pressing the department on the case since it was first reported and described the delays as "bureaucratic failures."

Raman said her office is demanding that LADBS expedite the testing and demolition and that it will push for accountability, so families do not have to wait a year and a half for basic safety hazards to be addressed.