Villa Aurora in Pacific Palisades reopens after fires

Thomas Mann once described the house as a “true castle by the sea”. And that's exactly how Villa Aurora appears when it reopens. For the first time since the devastating fires a year and a half ago, guests stand in the blazing sunlight on the balcony of the elegant house high up in the hills of Pacific Palisades. The sea view is fabulous.

When serious fires raged in Los Angeles in January 2025, the German cultural center was also in danger. More than half of the houses in the immediate vicinity burned to the ground. There is a video from these days that shows how close the fire came to Villa Aurora: A death-defying CNN reporter wearing ski goggles stands in the middle of the fire area on the street, near the house with the address 520 Paseo Miramar. Villa Aurora always remains just outside the frame. But everything the camera shows is on fire.