Tuesday, January 6, 2026

At John Muir High School, a Community Scattered by Fire Will Gather to Make Art

When the Eaton Fire swept through Altadena and Pasadena on January 7, 2025, John Muir High School’s buildings were spared. Its community was not. Approximately 175 students and 16 to 18 staff members lost their homes, according to verified reports, leaving the school intact but its population scattered.

One year later, on the fire’s first anniversary, the school will host a community art gathering intended to bring some of those scattered residents back together. The event, scheduled for 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 7, 2026, is free and open to all.

The gathering is organized by Cynthia Lake, a retired studio arts instructor who taught at John Muir for 31 years and is a 1971 graduate of the school. She will be joined by Side Street Projects, a mobile artist-run nonprofit founded in 1992, and the John Muir High School Alumni Association, which established an emergency donation fund for faculty, students, and alumni who lost homes in the fire.

The event will feature art-making activities,

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Pasadena and Altadena Schools to Mark Eaton Fire Anniversary With Moment of Silence

Pasadena Unified School District schools in Pasadena and Altadena will observe a brief moment of silence on Jan. 7 to mark one year since the start of the Eaton Fire, according to a letter sent Monday to the district community by Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Blanco. 

The observance comes as the district returns from winter break and enters the anniversary month of the wildfire that ignited in

Eaton Canyon on Jan. 7, 2025, and spread into foothill neighborhoods in Altadena and Pasadena. 

The fire destroyed more than 9,400 structures including district facilities and displaced thousands of students, families and staff across the district, according to PUSD’s documented recovery timeline. 

In her message to families, Blanco wrote that the anniversary is “part of our shared experience and a reminder of the power of us as a community: working together, supporting one another, and lifting up our students.” She said teachers have been provided resources to support student learning and well–being, and families needing additional help are encouraged to contact their school principal. 

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Pacific Oaks Helps Distribute Nearly $2 Million to Childcare Sites Ahead of Eaton Fire Anniversary

As the one-year anniversary of the Eaton Fire approaches, Pacific Oaks College & Children’s School in Pasadena has helped distribute nearly $2 million to 43 childcare sites.

Pacific Oaks worked with the Childcare Directors Alliance, the City of Pasadena, Save the Children, and the Pasadena Community Foundation to provide funding ranging from $900 to the established cap of $45,000, according to statement issued on behalf on the institution.

Pacific Oaks College has drawn on its network of relationships in the early childhood sector over the past year to provide direction, funding and support to local childcare providers. The statement also said the school served as a distribution center for childcare providers and families in the immediate aftermath of the fire.

According to the statement, Alana Lewis of Auntie Lana’s Daycare, whose site was damaged and “barely survived the fire,” was able to rebuild and continue providing childcare support for families in the area.

The disaster destroyed or damaged an estimated 50–60% of childcare facilities in Altadena,

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Rain Exits, Evacuation Warnings Lifted

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Clouds are expected to linger over the Southland Tuesday, along with a slight chance of light showers, but forecasters said conditions should dry out by mid-week.

Forecasters said the region should have “relatively benign weather” for the balance of the week, with partly to mostly cloudy skies continuing with a slight chance of rain Tuesday evening.

“Partly to mostly cloudy conditions will persist through Tuesday,” said the National Weather Service. “There will be a chance of light showers through tonight, mainly north of Point Conception. For Wednesday through the upcoming weekend, dry conditions are expected. For Friday through the weekend, warmer conditions are expected with moderate Santa Ana winds.”

By Sunday, temperatures could be 3 to 6 degrees above normal.

“As for rain chances, there could be some light rain in some areas, especially across the Central Coast, but amounts will be light (under 0.10 inches),” according to the NWS. “By Wednesday, the low will be far enough south to diminish cloud cover and keep any rain south of Los Angeles County.”

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Pasadena Church Marks Fire Anniversary with Open Doors

All Saints Church in Pasadena joins with those throughout the wider Altadena/Pasadena community marking the first anniversary of the Eaton Fire with open doors and opportunities to gather for prayer and community.

The church will be open daily throughout the week (January 5-9) for quiet reflection, prayer, and remembrance from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. “This is an unstructured space meant simply to be: to breathe, remember, and find comfort,” said Thomas Diaz, All Saints’ Director of Pastoral Care & Connection.

“On Wednesday, January 7, at 12:10 p.m. on the calendar day marking one year since the fire, all are welcome for a Noonday Eucharist with special intentions for all affected by the fires and for the ongoing work of recovery and restoration. At 6:00 p.m., the day will conclude with a Contemplative Taizé service – preceded by an opportunity to walk the Labyrinth beginning at 5:30 p.m. Whoever you are and wherever you find yourself on the journey of faith you are welcome as we both mark this anniversary and move forward.”

All Saints Church is at 132 N.

Monday, January 5, 2026

Inaugural Altadena Forever Run Draws Thousands, Raises Estimated $100,000 for Eaton Fire Survivors

Runners and walkers gathered beneath charred landmark three days before Eaton Fire anniversary

More than 3,000 runners and walkers gathered Sunday beneath the charred brick façade of the Woodbury Building for the inaugural Altadena Forever Run, a benefit event that organizers say raised an estimated $100,000 for residents displaced by the Eaton Fire. 

The building’s owner, Joey Galloway, whose family had owned the property on East Mariposa Street for 42 years, agreed to leave the skeletal remains of the structure standing through race weekend at the request of co-organizer Victoria Knapp. The deliberate preservation created a starting line monument to what was lost when the fire swept through Altadena on Jan. 7. 

“I specifically asked the building’s owner to leave the skeletal brick remains standing through the weekend as a visible reminder to folks who had not ever been here, about what happened here,” Knapp said. 

The event took place three days before the one-year anniversary of the Eaton Fire,

Monday, January 5, 2026

Eaton Fire Anniversary Week: A Week of Events Marking Tragedy, Resilience and Hope

A directory of key events, gatherings and ways to participate

Monday marks the start of a full week of focused remembrance, reflection, service, and community gatherings, marking the one-year anniversary of the Eaton Fire on January 7. 

Below are featured events with direct links for details, reservations, and further information. Pasadena Now will present a full range of closeup articles on many of these events on Tuesday. 

UCLA Luskin Institute Webinar: Altadena Recovery (Virtual) https://latino.ucla.edu/events/webinar-the-altadena-recovery/

Eaton Fire Collaborative Youth Ambassadors Program Gathering https://larises.org/we-show-up/ 

Volunteer: Eaton Fire Collaborative Free Store (Altadena) https://larises.org/we-show-up/ 

Community Gathering & Remembrance (Coalition for Altadena Recovery) https://www.altadenatowncouncil.org/ 

John Muir High School – Eaton Fire Anniversary Community Event https://www.instagram.com/councilmembermoulden/

Altadena Candlelight Vigil (Lake Ave &

Monday, January 5, 2026

Anonymous Donor Steps Forward in the Rain, Funds Altadena Poppy Project Final Push

By JAMES MACPHERSON

A $5,000 pledge made during the Altadena Forever run Sunday completes the funding for René Amy’s quarter-billion-seed vision — a project born from the ashes of his own home and business.

As rain fell on the Altadena Forever Mug Run Sunday morning, an anonymous donor approached Altadena activist René Amy and made a pledge that completed his improbable dream: $5,000 to help Amy blanket fire-scarred Altadena with California poppy seeds, to restore Altadena’s glorious carpet of a flower once so dense its poppy fields were visible to Spanish sailors off the coast of California (over 20 miles away), a distinct golden patch on the foothills known as La Sabanilla de San Pascual, the “Altar Cloth of San Pasqual.”

Amy said Sunday that the donation, which made the stranger a “silver sponsor” of The Great Altadena Poppy Project, closed a funding gap that had threatened to leave hundreds of properties whose owners asked Amy to “poppify” them — without seeds.

Monday, January 5, 2026

New California Fee Targets Batteries In PlayStations, Power Tools And Singing Cards

By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde, CALMATTERS

Starting January 1, Californians will pay a new fee every time they buy a product with a non-removable battery – whether it’s a power tool, a PlayStation, or even a singing greeting card.

The 1.5% surcharge, capped at $15, expands a recycling program that’s been quietly collecting old computer monitors and TVs for two decades. The change is a result of Senate Bill 1215, authored by former state Sen. Josh Newman, a Democrat who represented parts of Los Angeles and San Bernardino. It was signed into law in 2022.

Consumers will pay the fee when buying any product with an embedded battery whether it’s rechargeable or not. Many of these products, experts said, end up in the trash. In its most recent analysis, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery estimates about 7,300 tons of batteries go to landfills illegally or by accident.

California pioneered electronic waste fees with computer monitors and TVs in 2003.

Monday, January 5, 2026

LA Artist Who Captured Fire’s Devastation Now Leads Community Healing Through Paint

Edgar Arceneaux shifts from museum acclaim to grassroots recovery with Altadena mural project

The Los Angeles artist whose recent works depicting the Eaton Fire’s aftermath were acquired by the city’s top museums is trading gallery walls for community canvas. 

Edgar Arceneaux will lead Altadena residents in painting a community mural Jan. 23-25 at Bob Lucas Memorial Library. The project marks a shift from his museum success to hands-on recovery work. 

His pieces “Skinning the Mirror (Summer 1)” and “Skinning the Mirror (Winter 9)” – both created in 2025 – were snapped up by major institutions including the Hammer Museum, LACMA and MOCA. The works sold at Frieze Los Angeles earlier this year. 

Now the Whitney Biennial veteran and USC associate professor is focusing on collective healing. 

“Our new mural will celebrate powerful themes of regrowth, rebuilding resilience, literacy and community values that speak deeply to who we are and where we’re going,” said Nikki Winslow, district director of Altadena Library District.