Studio City Fire Ruins Sit for 18 Months, Neighbor Says Roof Kept Collapsing

More than 18 months after flames tore through two homes on Vanetta Place in Studio City, neighbors say they are still waiting for the wreckage to be hauled away — living next to a structure so unstable that its roof kept caving in on itself while a burned electric vehicle sat rotting in the driveway.

The Sunswept Fire broke out around 8 p.m. on January 8, 2025, inside a two-story home at 4132 Vanetta Place before racing up the hillside to a four-story residence after a propane tank exploded between the two structures, according to The Harvard-Westlake Chronicle. The blaze hit one day after the Palisades and Eaton fires ignited, and it erupted the same night LAFD crews were also battling the 60-acre Sunset Fire near Runyon Canyon, according to the Los Angeles Times, a multi-fire outbreak that strained emergency crews across Council District 4. As reported by CBS News, the fire destroyed both homes on Vanetta Place, and residents have waited more than a year and a half for debris removal to begin.

Jen Stanley, a mother of two who lives next to the two burned properties, moved back into her home this year even as the ruined structures next door continued to crumble. She told the outlet the roof was constantly collapsing further, and neighbors said the long delay was simply unreasonable.

A Collapse That Started the Night of the Fire

The danger at the site did not begin with neglect — it began the night of the blaze. During the initial response, LAFD Captain Brian Harris noticed the four-story Vanetta Place building weakening and ordered firefighters to retreat minutes before it collapsed, per the same Harvard-Westlake Chronicle account. That means the structure was already compromised before the fire was even fully extinguished, leaving a hazard that would linger for a year and a half afterward.

Residents also worried about a burned electric vehicle left sitting in the driveway. The concern is not unfounded: the EPA's lithium-ion battery task force has reported that incinerated electric vehicles carry reignition risks that can persist for weeks or months after a fire, according to CBS News, requiring heavy machinery just to safely remove the cells. During Phase 1 wildfire cleanup across the region, the EPA extracted more than 645 EV batteries from destroyed properties, illustrating how common — and hazardous — the problem became across LA's burn zones, per the Pepperdine Graphic.

Why the Cleanup Stalled for So Long

Neighbors repeatedly complained to the city about the lack of cleanup, worried about possible asbestos and lead contamination in addition to the structural collapse risk. The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety did complete asbestos removal at the site, but the broader demolition stalled after the property entered foreclosure and the owner failed to comply with cleanup requirements, the CBS News report found. The city told residents the property owner — not the city — was responsible for addressing the site.

LADBS solicited contractor bids after issuing a notice of noncompliance, and the city ultimately delayed cleanup to give the owner time to resolve the code violation before stepping in. Debris eventually fell into the street. The city has since approved a contract for demolition and for asbestos and lead testing, per CBS LA, and LADBS is now obtaining a contractor to complete the demolition.

That timeline tracks with how Los Angeles code enforcement is designed to work. Under Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 91.8906.2, when LADBS ultimately performs a demolition or abatement itself, the associated costs become the owner's personal financial obligation and can be placed as a tax lien against the title, according to the LA City Clerk. But before the city can take that step, code rules require it to give owners administrative windows to fix violations first — mandatory grace periods that, in a case complicated by foreclosure, stretched into a year and a half of delay.

City Hall Responds Amid Political Pressure

Mayor Karen Bass' office called the property owner's failure to clear the site and abate the nuisance unacceptable, adding that clearing fire debris is absolutely a priority for the city. Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nithya Raman went further, calling the delay inexcusable and saying residents were forced to live next to a burned-out structure for 18 months. Her office said the city has identified the burned-out structure as an imminent hazard, and said it has been pressing LADBS on the case since it was first reported and would push for accountability. LADBS itself did not respond to inquiries for a month, according to the outlet.

For neighbors, the approved demolition contract offers some relief after a long wait, even as questions remain about how a single stalled property could take so much longer to clear than the region's broader disaster recovery effort. The consolidated FEMA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers debris removal program cleared 2.5 million tons of fire debris from nearly 9,700 properties across LA County following the January 2025 firestorms, per the County of Los Angeles — but that program relies on owners voluntarily signing right-of-entry agreements, an option that was complicated once the Vanetta Place property fell into foreclosure. Neighbors told CBS News they were relieved the city was finally moving forward, even after the long wait.