Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Corps of Engineers Begins Phase 2 of Debris Removal in Los Angeles Wildfire Recovery

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has officially begun Phase 2 of wildfire debris removal in Los Angeles County, marking a critical step in the region’s recovery efforts. The first sites to undergo clearing are two schools in the Pasadena Unified School District, where crews will remove hazardous debris to ensure a safe path forward for rebuilding.

The Army Corps of Engineers is leading this effort in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and in coordination with state and local partners. The work involves clearing fire-damaged properties of hazardous ash and debris while adhering to strict environmental and safety protocols.

FEMA Region 9 Administrator Bob Fenton emphasized the importance of this phase: “Debris removal is a critical step toward rebuilding these communities. FEMA remains committed to supporting local communities in their recovery every step of the way.”

The Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles Wildfires Recovery Field Office Commander, Col. Eric Swenson, underscored the Corps’ commitment to the mission: “Beginning Phase 2 means we’re making tangible progress toward recovery.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

“Atmospheric River” Bears Down on Altadena and Pasadena

CITY NEWS SERVICE AND NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

A pair of storm systems are expected to dump rain on Southern California beginning Tuesday, again raising fears of possible debris or mud flows in recent burn areas.

The first system is scheduled to arrive sometime Tuesday evening, according to the National Weather Service.

Los Angeles will see rainfall, likely receiving one-quarter to three-quarters of an inch in most areas, but as much as 1.5 inches in “favored hills and mountains, which includes the … Eaton burn scars.”

“This will generally be a beneficial rain for the region,” according to the NWS. “Snow levels will be very high and above any major roads. The risk for burn scar debris flows is very small. Flooding impacts should be minor and confined to localized roads and clogged storm drains. …”

A second storm system is projected to drop more rain from Thursday afternoon into Friday morning.

Although rainfall totals were still being calculated,

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Insurance Challenges Loom as Altadena Rebuilds After Fire

State officials work to address insurance availability and homeowner concerns in fire-ravaged community

A state insurance official told Altadenans Monday that California is working to ensure homeowners can rebuild and maintain insurance coverage in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire disaster.

Julia Juarez, Deputy Commissioner for the Community Relations and Outreach Branch at the California Department of Insurance, said the department is collaborating with the California Governor’s office, legislature, and insurance companies to develop a sustainable insurance strategy.

Key protections for local homeowners are to include a mandatory moratorium on policy non-renewals, and assurances that residents with completely destroyed homes are to receive two years of continuous insurance coverage automatically.

Meanwhile, State Farm, California’s largest home insurer, requested an emergency 22% average rate increase for homeowners statewide. Advocacy groups pushed back, alleging the insurer should be able to cover the cost of fire claims without the large increase.

Juarez said the state has implemented a detailed “Safer from Wildfires”

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

New Altadena Recovery Commission Launched to Speed Community Rebuilding

County initiative will streamline permits and develop affordable housing solutions for fire-affected residents

At a virtual community meeting held Monday, Los Angeles County Board Chair Supervisor Kathryn Barger announced plans to establish an Altadena Recovery Commission in the coming days, a new initiative designed to accelerate the community’s rebuilding process.

The Commission, to be referred to as the ARC, will focus on modernizing infrastructure, streamlining permitting, and developing scalable housing solutions.

“Throughout every step of the recovery process, I’m committed to getting you the information that you need,” Barger said during the meeting, which included representatives from multiple agencies and addressed pre-submitted resident questions. “Altadena residents have a clear shared vision and commitment to rebuild this community and the time to rebuild begins now.”

The Commission, which Barger’s office will sponsor, will “have the mission to bend the arc of history for Altadena” through an expedited process that brings together government agencies, private sector partners, and community stakeholders.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Begins Assessment of Heavily Damaged Eliot Arts Magnet School Today

The United States Army Corps of Engineers is set to begin assessing the condition of heavily damaged Eliot Arts Magnet School in Altadena today.

The assessment aims to develop a plan for fire debris removal while maintaining, to the extent possible, the architectural and historical integrity of the Altadena campus, largely destroyed on January 8 by the Eaton Fire.

This evaluation is a critical component of the federal debris removal initiative following the devastation wrought by the Eaton Fire, which affected five District schools.

“As we continue to move forward in restoring and rebuilding our PUSD community, I want to update you on work at Eliot Arts Magnet, which was damaged by the fire,” said Pasadena Unified School District Elizabeth Blanco on Monday Feb. 3. She added, “As previously announced, the United States Army Corps of Engineers has prioritized our area for the removal of fire debris from our five schools that were destroyed or significantly damaged by the Eaton Fire.”

Personnel in hard hats and safety vests will conduct evaluations at the Eliot site,

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Altadena Meteorologist Edgar McGregor Honored for Life-Saving Warnings During Eaton Fire

By EDDIE RIVERA

Altadena meteorologist Edgar McGregor could see the flames just seven blocks from his Altadena house on the evening of Tuesday, January 7. He knew it was bad.

He had no idea how bad.

“When I took that video warning people to evacuate,” he said Monday at a press conference honoring his work, “It was in between running out to my car to put stuff in and going back in the house to grab a few things that I wanted. I should have heeded my own warnings and packed my car, but being seven blocks away, the rational side of my mind just thought there’s no way a fire could reach us.”

“I went to a property on Montana Drive, I believe it was in Pasadena, which is where the fire [progressed] furthest into the Los Angeles basin,” he continued. “That was 23 blocks removed from the mountains. So, where I was seven blocks away, was definitely in danger,

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Congress Members Join Call for Review of LA County Emergency Notification System

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A group of Southland congressional representatives joined the call Monday for answers about what caused evacuation warnings to be mistakenly sent to thousands of residents during the height of last month’s wildfires.

Led by Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, more than a dozen congressional representatives signed letters that were sent to Los Angeles County and its notification-systems software operator, Genasys Inc., along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Federal Communications Commission.

“As members of Congress representing Los Angeles County, we write regarding erroneous emergency alerts issued during the recent deadly wildfires,” the letters stated. “In life-safety emergencies, appropriately timed, targeted, and clear emergency alert messages can mean the difference between life and death. However, unclear messages sent to the wrong locations, multiple times and after the emergency has passed, can lead to alerting fatigue and erosion of public trust. In this time of intense grief, loss, and dislocation, we are working to learn all of the lessons of the past weeks,

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Rick Caruso Launches New Coalition to Help Rebuild Fire-Impacted Communities

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Billionaire developer Rick Caruso announced Monday the launch of a foundation dedicated to accelerating the rebuilding and recovery of communities devastated by January’s wildfires in the Los Angeles region.

Caruso said the initiative, dubbed Steadfast LA, aims to bridge the gap between public and private sectors to fast-track recovery efforts in Pacific Palisades, Malibu, Altadena and other fire-impacted communities.

“Rebuilding these communities and getting people back in their homes isn’t just our responsibility — it’s our job, and we’re rolling up our sleeves to make it happen, full stop,” Caruso said in a statement.

“This isn’t about meetings and paperwork. It’s about getting our hands dirty, breaking through obstacles and physically rebuilding — brick-by- brick, street-by-street,” he added.

Caruso, who made a high-profile bid for Los Angeles mayor in 2022, has been outspoken about what he sees as failures in the city’s wildfire preparedness. He has condemned reductions in the Los Angeles Fire Department’s budget and pointed to critical shortcomings,

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Authorities Seek Help Locating 30-Year-Old Man With Mental Health Disorder

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Authorities requested the public’s help Monday in locating an at-risk 30-year-old man with an unspecified mental disorder who was displaced from his Altadena residence due to the Eaton Fire.

Kevin Josue Coello-Hernandez last contacted his family around 4:45 p.m. Jan. 7, the night the fire erupted. He was last seen near Lake Avenue and Loma Alta Drive, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Coello-Hernandez was described as a 5-foot-10-inch tall Hispanic man weighing 178 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a black hoodie, blue sweatpants and white shoes.

Sheriff’s officials said Coello-Hernandez’s family is growing concerned about his whereabouts due to his medical condition and is seeking the public’s help in finding him.

Anyone with information regarding Coello-Hernandez’s whereabouts was urged to call the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau Missing Persons Detail at 323-890- 5500. Tipsters who prefer to remain anonymous can call 800-222-8477 or visit lacrimestoppers.org.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

How Communities Recover from Disasters with Lucy Jones

Courtesy of CALTECH

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After the January 2025 LA fires burned thousands of homes in Altadena, Pasadena, and the Pacific Palisades, the Caltech Science Exchange asked Lucy Jones to share her insights on how communities recover from natural disasters. A seismologist, Jones is a visiting associate in geophysics at Caltech and the founder of the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society.

Read on for more of the conversation:

We sometimes talk about the three Rs of disasters: resilience, response, and recovery. Resilience is what you do before a disaster so that when it does happen, you can come back more quickly. Response is what happens during the disaster: the firefighters coming out, the cleanup of the toxic waste, and those sorts of things. Recovery is the process of coming back to what we were before but more resilient. We call it recovery to resilience.

These three Rs of a disaster are treated very differently within our political system.