Updated June 13, 2026 at 2:57 PM EDT
CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti says the political fallout from the 2025 Palisades Fire continues to shape Los Angeles politics as the city races to rebuild before hosting the 2028 Olympics.
In his new book, Torched: How a City Was Left to Burn and the Olympic Rush to Rebuild L.A., Vigliotti details the early hours of the fire when residents found themselves evacuating their homes without a plan.
"I remember looking around, taking stock, not seeing a single firefighter, a single first responder there on the scene," he told Morning Edition.
Vigliotti said elected officials, from Mayor Karen Bass to Gov. Gavin Newsom, have struggled to give a clear message about what went wrong and where mistakes were made.
"Politics and policy are certainly too slow to adapt," Vigliotti said.
Vigliotti said rebuilding efforts are moving at an unusually fast pace, with permits approved in just two to three months, in some cases. But he argued that speed alone is not enough.
"We need to change policies so that when we rebuild, we're not rebuilding the same old way; we're building with resiliency," he said.
In this interview with NPR's A Martínez, Vigliotti discusses disaster preparedness, public trust in government and the pressures of rebuilding Los Angeles ahead of the 2028 Olympics.
Listen to the full interview by clicking on the blue play button above.
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