Friday, January 9, 2026

Music Center to Host Free Event Featuring Immersive 3D Documentation of Eaton Fire Destruction

The Music Center in downtown Los Angeles will host a free public event this evening featuring immersive three-dimensional imagery of the Eaton Fire’s catastrophic aftermath.

The evening features work from Arizona State University’s Narrative and Emerging Media program, led by founding director Nonny de la Peña. The program’s journalists used a technology called Gaussian Splatting to create photorealistic 3D scenes that allow viewers to virtually walk through images of the destruction.

ASU graduate student and lead journalist Ashley Buschhorn led the team that captured the imagery.

“It was the chance to be one of the first on the scene and to be able to capture something in a way that other people weren’t,” Buschhorn told ASU News in April 2025. “That’s inherent coming from a journalist background—when breaking news happens, you just figure it out.”

De la Peña, who grew up in Altadena, described her reaction to viewing the documentation of her former neighborhood.

“And for me, I would have waves and waves of emotional reaction because it’s so unimaginable when you see the big landscape,”

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Bear ‘Evicted’ from Crawlspace Under Altadena Home

CITY NEWS SERVICE

A 500-plus-pound bear who took up residence beneath an Altadena home — by squeezing through a seemingly too-small crawlspace entry — was “evicted” this week with help from a Tahoe-based animal-advocacy group.

The bear began living in the crawlspace sometime last year. Homeowner Ken Johnson said he initially found damage at his home that appeared to have been caused by an unknown animal, so he set up a surveillance camera. Around Thanksgiving, the camera captured the unthinkable — a massive black bear backing its way into the narrow crawlspace entryway.

Efforts to remove the bear all fell flat, leaving Johnson frustrated and even threatening to sue the state for failing to get the animal out of the crawlspace.

This week, volunteers from the Lake Tahoe-based nonprofit BEAR League visited Johnson to assist.

According to the group, one of the volunteers “crawled beneath the home — fully aware the bear was still there — to get behind him and encourage him to exit through the crawlspace opening.”

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Eaton Fire Anniversary: A Night Full of Light

By EDDIE RIVERA | Photography by Eddie Rivera/Pasadena Now

At first-anniversary commemoration of the Eaton Fire, Altadenans gathered to remember the 19 lives lost and to mark a year of grief, resilience and community

The Grocery Outlet parking lot in Altadena — a place that became an informal meeting ground, aid station and gathering point in the days and months after the Eaton Fire — filled again Thursday night, this time with music, poetry, prayer, and remembrance.

An estimated 1,000 residents, survivors, neighbors and friends gathered there for the first anniversary commemoration of the January 7, 2025 fire, which killed 19 people and destroyed large swaths of the community.

As dusk fell, cell phone lights rose into the air, illuminating the lot during a moment of silence for the fire’s victims.

“Each of us here remembers where we were on January 7th, 2025,” said Gilda Riazi Moshir, district governor of Rotary International District 5300 .

Thursday, January 8, 2026

One Year Later, Caltech Fire Research Continues to Support the Community

By Lori Dajose, CALTECH

One year after the 2025 Los Angeles fires, Caltech researchers are pressing forward with research projects to provide answers in service of public health and safety. Through investigations that included testing for heavy metal contamination, monitoring air quality, and assessing the burn area’s erosion hazards, Caltech scientists immediately launched into action in the days and weeks following the fires, bringing scientific tools and expertise to tackle fundamental questions for the broader public—even as many of these individuals were impacted by the fires themselves.

“The Eaton and Palisades fires were a tragedy for so many in the Caltech-JPL community as well as our many friends and neighbors, yet that disaster inspired some of the most magnanimous acts of good will I’ve personally experienced,” says John Eiler, the Robert P. Sharp Professor of Geology and Geochemistry and Ted and Ginger Jenkins Leadership Chair of the Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS). “Our community came together to help each other with housing and all manner of other needs,

Thursday, January 8, 2026

County Launches New Website That Provides ‘Lessons Learned’ from Wildfires’ Recovery

Los Angeles County has launched a new website marking one year since the 2025 Eaton and Palisades wildfires that provides a look back at the fires’ impact, a progress report on accomplishments over the last 12 months, and lessons learned.

The newebsite is located online here.

The website includes video messages from Supervisors Kathryn Barger and Lindsey P. Horvath reflecting on the fires’ impact and the recovery process.

It also features videos highlighting residents’ rebuilding journeys, including the first family in West Altadena to complete their rebuild and receive a certificate of occupancy.

According to the county statement, the site provides an overview of financial assistance for residents, businesses and workers, as well as lessons learned and new programs implemented to strengthen emergency preparedness and response.

The website also highlights LA County Forward: The Blueprint for Rebuilding, which outlines the county’s all-sectors recovery approach in partnership with state and federal agencies, private industry, philanthropy and community organizations.

Thursday, January 8, 2026

California’s New Senate Leader Wants Democrats United. A Budget Shortfall Could Divide Them

By Maya C. Miller, CALMATTERS

As California legislators return to Sacramento and prepare to tackle a budget deficit, all eyes are on new Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón of Santa Barbara and what tone she sets for her chamber.

Limón, 46, a progressive backed by labor unions and the first Latina to lead the Senate, will face arguably her greatest legislative challenge yet as she and her diverse caucus grapple with a daunting projected $18 billion state budget deficit and historic federal funding cuts from the Trump administration.

While Limón has yet to announce any cost-cutting strategies or impose any limits on lawmakers introducing bills that require new money, the scarcity of funds will likely force the new leader to focus on a few key priorities, a premise she resisted in a recent interview with CalMatters.

“Our caucus will continue to prioritize issues that our communities prioritize,” Limón said,

Thursday, January 8, 2026

More Than 2,000 Books Delivered to PUSD Campuses Marking One Year Since Eaton Fire

One year after the Eaton Fire, costumed Justice League members appeared at Altadena Arts Magnet to read to students.

They were among guest readers who visited Pasadena Unified School District classrooms as part of a districtwide partnership with Teamsters Local Union 986, which organized the guest readers and helped bring the literacy events to life. More than 2,000 copies of Home: A Story of Resilience were delivered to PUSD campuses this week. The book, by author Carrie Barnes, explores what it means to heal and find a sense of home after hardship.

Guest readers across the district included author Carrie Barnes at Sierra Madre Elementary, actor Melora Hardin at Don Benito Elementary School, and Chris Holden of LA Fire Justice at Jackson Elementary. Each visit centered around hope and encouraged student engagement.

“It was incredibly moving to share Home with students who understand resilience in such a personal way,” Barnes said. “Being able to read my book with PUSD students,

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Congresswoman Chu Renews Push for Eaton Fire Disaster Aid

One year after the Eaton Fire “forever changed the communities of Altadena and Pasadena,” Rep. Judy Chu honored victims and renewed her push for federal disaster assistance to help local survivors recover, according to a press release from her office.

Chu spoke on the House floor to honor the victims and demand federal disaster assistance.

She also partnered with Rep. Brad Sherman, Sen. Adam Schiff and Sen. Alex Padilla to introduce a resolution honoring all the lives lost in the Eaton and Palisades fires, commending the heroic actions of first responders and underscoring Congress’ commitment to helping Southern California communities rebuild.

The resolution is cosponsored by all 41 additional House Democrats from California.

While the release notes that “tremendous progress has been made in our community’s recovery,” it says federal disaster assistance is still needed to support long-term recovery. Families, it said, “have already waited a year while rebuilding costs rise, housing shortages deepen, and displacement assistance expires.”

Chu’s statement said that President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans “have a duty to help communities devastated by natural disaster,

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Pasadena Groups Join Immigrant Workers Marking Wildfire Anniversary With Call for Safety, Protections

Immigrant day laborers who helped clear debris, deliver emergency aid, and restore homes after the Los Angeles wildfires one year ago will gather in neighboring Altadena on Friday for a press conference and day of service, an event organizers say underscores both their essential role in rebuilding and the ongoing threats they face from ICE enforcement. The announcement comes from a press statement issued by participating organizations.

The gathering marks one year since the L.A. wildfires and will highlight demands for full protections for workers doing dangerous remediation work, accountability from insurance companies and corporations that continue to profit while working-class families are left behind, and an immediate end to immigration enforcement in disaster-impacted communities. The National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), the Pasadena Community Job Center, Fire Poppy Project, the DENA Soil Project, Community Compound, SoilWise, Evolve Altadena and Metabolic Studio — all working on Altadena Earth Commons — are organizing the event.

“Rebuilding will happen, and it is impossible to do it without migrant labor,” said Pablo Alvarado,

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Altadena Small Business Recovery Fair Set for Jan. 8, One Year After Eaton Fire

The Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity will host the “Small Business Pop-Up Fair: Recovering Together” on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Loma Alta Park Gymnasium in Altadena, offering recovery services one year after the January 2025 wildfires, according to event materials.

The free event, co-sponsored by Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the LA County Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Altadena Chamber of Commerce, marks the one-year anniversary of the fires and takes place one year and one day after the Eaton Fire began at 6:18 p.m. on Jan. 7, 2025.

According to the Department of Economic Opportunity, the fair will provide one-on-one technical assistance from community business organizations; on-site sign-ups for the Shop Local LA County Gift Card Program; commercial permitting assistance; information on new capital and grant programs; pro bono legal aid; and hiring and training incentives for youth and permanent staff. A Shop Local LA County marketplace featuring Altadena-based small businesses is also planned.

Several county agencies and partner organizations are scheduled to provide services,