SORROW, OUTRAGE FLARE AT HEARING

Residents of Palisades share testimony with senators on plight of seniors in wake of fire.

- BY HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS, ANA CEBALLOS AND HANNAH FRY

RESIDENTS Tom Doran, left, David Schwarz, Jessica Rogers and John Alle offer testimony during the Senate field hearing in Pacific Palisades on Thursday.

(MYUNG J. CHUN Los Angeles Times)

In an emotional congressional hearing punctuated by immense frustration, six Pacific Palisades residents on Thursday spoke of family memories lost, an inadequate city response and a burdensome rebuilding process after the deadly inferno that destroyed thousands of homes and killed 12 people.

The panel of residents urged the federal government to intervene in the process of rebuilding and release funds that would help accelerate restoration of their homes and provide necessary safety improvements to water systems, streets and utilities after January’s Palisades fire.

“The pattern is clear: local government failed us on Jan. 7 and continues to fail us,” said Jessica Rogers, president of the Pacific Palisades Resident Assn. and a geriatric social worker. “We've been forced to lead our own recovery because the city won't.”

The public hearing — held at an American Legion hall across the street from the burned husk of the private, elementary Village School — was the first after Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin’s announcement in September that they would lead an inquiry into the fire.

The investigation, they said, is necessary to “uncover and expose the truth” about how the state and local governments responded to the inferno, which broke out amid hurricane-force winds and quickly overwhelmed firefighting resources.

Some local officials, such as Los Angeles City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez, have characterized the inquiry as a “witch hunt” by “MAGA Republicans” that was intended to bash Democrats.