Residents of the Pacific Palisades neighborhood who lost their homes in the Los Angeles fires are hunting for rental properties in Manhattan Beach, 21 miles south, vying for properties that are rare and inadequate even for the local population.
Soon after the Jan. 7 evacuation order, real estate in Manhattan Beach skyrocketed, even before the entirety of houses burned down in the Palisades. Nearly 70 million dollar’s worth of houses sold in the South Bay area within the first few weeks of the evacuation.
The South Bay Area is a region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, which is located in the southwest corner of Los Angeles County. Beach cities such as Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, and Redondo Beach lay in this area.
“The day after the evacuation order, I received 15 calls a day, two weeks straight,” said Robb Stroyke, a real estate agent in Manhattan Beach. “Everyone was in a mad scramble.”
According to KTLA, at least 10,000 structures in the Palisades burned down. This includes hundreds of homes that are now unlivable as well as impactful schools such as Corpus Christi middle school, Palisades Charter High School, and Saint Matthews middle school.
Manhattan Beach was an ideal location for Palisades fire victims, Stroyke explained.
“Manhattan Beach is the most similar community to the Palisades and is known as the ‘Palisades of the South,’” he explained.
Manhattan Beach lies the most north of the beach towns in the South Bay, which means a shorter commute for fire victims who work in Culver City or Santa Monica, compared to the other affluent beach towns, such as Hermosa Beach.
Families are scrambling to find properties and a temporary place to send their kids to school. Mira Costa, the public high school in Manhattan Beach has taken in about 100 students and American Martyrs, a Catholic school in Manhattan Beach, has welcomed more than 30 families.
Sarah Gerhardt, a mother of two children who attend American Martyrs, says the support the Manhattan Beach community has shown to the fire victims has been immense.
“By allowing the kids to join American Martyrs, it makes my boys feel like they are helping the victims of the fires on their own level,” Gerhardt said.
Schools in the Manhattan Beach district are making welcome bags and American Martyrs parents have stepped in to buy school supplies for all new students. These welcome bags include uniforms, notebooks, and groceries for the new families.
Manhattan Beach, with a population of around 33,369 people, is known for its tight-knit community and small-town atmosphere. Still, there’s been nothing but love shown to the victims, Stroyke says. “It has been really beautiful to see the way our community has worked to help each and every one of them,” he said.
Although the Palisades fire once seemed unimaginable, people are hopeful for a new start and embracing their new town of Manhattan Beach.
“I feel fortunate and blessed to be able to move to such a great neighborhood that I have always loved,” said Fiona Fisher, who lost her home in the fire and has relocated to Manhattan Beach. “I am very aware of how lucky me and my family are, as many Palisades families are still struggling to find homes.”
