Thursday, January 8, 2026

More Than $15 Million Directed Toward Fire Relief By Recording Academy Charity

One year after devastating wildfires tore through Los Angeles communities, the Recording Academy charity MusiCares has directed more than $15 million toward fire relief efforts, officials announced Wednesday.

The amount includes $7 million deployed in the immediate aftermath of the fires to address urgent needs, along with ongoing recovery support. In total, more than 3,200 music professionals have been reached through direct financial assistance, health and wellness services, and long-term recovery throughout the region, the charity said.

Funds raised during the 2025 Grammy Awards telecast, MusiCares’ Persons of the Year event and additional fundraising efforts were used to help deal with housing instability, interrupted income, physical health complications and ongoing trauma.

Additional funds were directed to community partners, including California Community Foundation, Direct Relief and Pasadena Community Foundation, supporting broader recovery efforts in neighborhoods hardest hit by the fires, according to MusiCares.

While many music professionals reached out for support immediately after the wildfires, others needed time to understand what help they needed and to assess their losses.

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Rare Book Fair Returns to Pasadena Following Wildfire Disruption

Rare Books LA will return to Pasadena on February 21-22, marking the first major antiquarian book fair in the city since devastating wildfires forced the cancellation of the competing California International Antiquarian Book Fair nearly one year earlier. The event has sold out all exhibitor spaces across two historic venues in Old Pasadena.

More than 70 to 80 booksellers from international locations including London, Melbourne, Paris, Vienna, and New York will occupy the Raymond Theatre at 129 North Raymond Avenue and the Courtyard by Marriott ballroom at 180 N Fair Oaks Avenue.

“Rich in history and culture, the Raymond Theatre is the perfect venue to feature the world’s leading booksellers,” said Rare Books LA Director Jodi Tolan. “It’s Coachella for book lovers!”

The fair fills a significant void created when the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America cancelled its 57th California International Antiquarian Book Fair on January 13. The Pasadena Convention Center was taken over by the Red Cross and FEMA for 30 days to manage wildfire recovery efforts.

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Pasadena Humane Completes the Largest Rescue Mission in Its History

The shelter helped 1,500 animals. Fewer than a dozen now remain in care—owned by families still searching for pet-friendly housing.

THERESE EDU

One year ago, on the evening of January 7, 2025, the Eaton Fire ignited above Altadena. By the time it was contained, Pasadena Humane had completed what the California Community Foundation called the largest emergency animal rescue operation in the shelter’s more than 100 years of operation.

The organization helped 1,500 animals affected by the fire, according to CCF, which provided grant support through its Wildfire Recovery Fund. The grant enabled the shelter to purchase additional kennels and oxygen cages for animals suffering from smoke inhalation, and to convert meeting and training rooms into temporary boarding spaces, the foundation reported.

On the first night of evacuations, the shelter accepted more than 100 animals. By 6:30 p.m. on January 8, that number had grown to more than 300, Pasadena Humane reported.

“We are a different organization than we were January 6th of 2025,”

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

After the Cameras Leave: Altadena Recovery Leader Fears a “Forgetfulness Factor”

One year after the Eaton Fire, mental health has become the most sought-after service at the community’s recovery hub—and the man who leads it, who lost his own home, fears people will forget.

THERESE EDU

Antonio Manning lost his home in the Eaton Fire. One year later, he chairs the Eaton Fire Collaborative Leadership Council, the governance body that oversees the Long-term Recovery Group, where mental health services have become, in his words, “highly sought after.”

“I think the mental health piece is one that is highly sought after,” Manning said in an interview ahead of anniversary remembrance events scheduled this week.

The Collaboratory, a recovery hub on Woodbury Road that Manning helps lead, has become the center for long-term recovery efforts for fire survivors. The hub, located at 540 W. Woodbury Road, opened October 7, as the first permanent physical location for fire survivors seeking services. Pasadena Community Foundation, California Community Foundation, and other funders provided $975,000 to secure the site and launch operations.

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Even With Unprecedented Charitable Giving, Tens of Billions Still Needed for Wildfire Survivors

A year after the disaster, 7 in 10 Altadena residents remain displaced—and the Pasadena Community Foundation is now calling for federal recovery dollars “at historic levels.”

THERESE EDU

Nearly a year after the Eaton Fire killed at least 19 people and destroyed large swaths of housing in Altadena, charitable giving for Los Angeles fire recovery has approached $1 billion—yet 7 in 10 Altadena residents remain displaced, according to the Department of Angels’ January 2026 survey. The Pasadena Community Foundation, which reports it has disbursed more than $20 million in fire-response grants to over 110 nonprofit partners, says even that historic generosity covers only “a fraction of the tens of billions needed for true recovery.”

“Even with nearly $1 billion in charitable giving across Los Angeles, philanthropy covers only a fraction of the tens of billions needed for true recovery,” said Khanh Duy Russo, president and CEO of the Pasadena Community Foundation.

More than half of all Eaton Fire survivors are at risk of losing their displacement coverage within a year—or never had it at all,

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Eight Organizations, One Year Later: Inside Altadena’s Necessary Experiment in Collective Recovery

The Community Coalition for Altadena Recovery unites groups that don’t always agree. As the Eaton Fire anniversary arrives, they’re betting that shared purpose can hold a fractured community together

THERESE EDU

In the months after the Eaton Fire wrought devastation across Altadena and portions of Pasadena, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger convened a meeting with an unusual premise.

She gathered leaders from eight established Altadena civic organizations — groups with overlapping memberships but distinct missions, different constituencies, and, at times, even competing priorities. The Altadena Town Council. The NAACP. The Chamber of Commerce. The Historical Society. Rotary. Heritage. ACONA. Altadena WILD.

Her charge: find a way to speak to the county with something approaching a unified voice, even when you disagree.

“This afternoon, we convened the very first meeting of the new Community Coalition for Altadena Recovery,” Barger wrote on April 2, 2025. “This group of local leaders know their community best and will help guide our efforts in the months and years to come.”

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Eaton Fire Survivors Face ‘Imminent Housing Crisis’ as Insurance Coverage Expires

More than 70 percent of survivors remain displaced, according to the Eaton Fire Survivors Network, as a one-year anniversary press conference Wednesday will demand action from insurers and Edison

THERESE EDU

One year after the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena and Pasadena, destroying more than 9,400 structures and killing 19 people, Joy Chen says most survivors are running out of time.

“We have an imminent housing crisis happening that’s underway,” said Chen, Executive Director of the Eaton Fire Survivors Network, a coalition she describes as representing over 10,000 survivors and allies. Chen, a former Los Angeles deputy mayor, said more than 70 percent of Eaton Fire survivors remain displaced, and insurance housing coverage is expiring in the coming months.

On Wednesday, January 7, the network intends to hold survivor-led press conference at The Collaboratory, 540 W. Woodbury Road in Altadena, to mark the anniversary and press demands for housing relief from insurers, Southern California Edison, and the federal government.

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

The Pasadena Jewish Temple Remembers Eaton Fire

Temple and center were completely destroyed in devastating blaze

By EDDIE RIVERA

In the first of what will be numerous events commemorating the date, members of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center were joined by Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger on Tuesday night for a commemoration marking one year since the synagogue was destroyed in the Eaton Fire.

Clark Linstone, President of Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center, invited Supervisor Barger to join the congregation for the one-year anniversary of the loss of the Temple. The event began with a commemoration, followed by a discussion of the temple’s rebuilding plans, and eventually a time of informal gathering..

The remembrance was held at the site of the former temple—now an empty dirt lot—which was completely lost in the January 7, 2025 wildfire.

Attendees stood together in prayer, honoring the building’s destruction and the impact the fire had on the congregation and the broader community.

Barger stood with Senior Rabbi Joshua Ratner and other temple leaders and congregants as they reflected on the loss of their sacred space and the ongoing recovery process.

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Supervisor Barger Issues Statement on Eaton Fire Anniversary, Recovery, Aid and Accountability

On the one-year anniversary of the Eaton Fire, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger released a statement addressed to survivors, acknowledging their pain, outlining county relief efforts centered in Altadena, and reaffirming her commitment to recovery and accountability. The statement reflects on the past year of recovery in Altadena, details financial assistance delivered to fire-impacted households, workers and businesses, and commits to pressing for stronger emergency notification systems and federal resources to prevent housing instability.

In the statement, Barger said anniversaries of the fire can reopen wounds for those still navigating insurance disputes, contamination cleanup and the slow, exhausting process of rebuilding. She described it as her responsibility to ensure survivors are not facing those challenges alone.

Barger pointed to Altadena’s recovery over the past year, saying Los Angeles County has delivered more than $21 million in household relief grants for Altadena families, nearly $8.5 million for Eaton Fire–impacted small businesses and nonprofits, and more than $2.2 million to workers who lost wages because of the fire.

Wednesday, January 7, 2026

One Year After the Eaton Fire, Altadena and Pasadena Mark Loss, Recovery, and the Work Still Ahead

One year after the Eaton Fire, politicians, pundits and local residents continue to push forward in the wake of the fire which left Altadena devastated

By ANDRÉ COLEMAN, MANAGING EDITOR

It was like a bomb going off, no other way to describe it,” Governor Gavin Newsom said. “And I was there just a few hours after the fire, and was there physically in the midst of the firefighting as I went up into the foothills and experienced firsthand what our first responders were dealing with.”

In the days that followed, entire blocks were transformed. Homes were reduced to foundations and chimneys. Vehicles were left burned in driveways. Power lines sagged. The smell of smoke lingered long after the flames were out, seeping into clothing, furniture, and the routines of daily life.

Within hours of the fire’s advance, community response filled the gaps left by the emergency. Churches, schools, and nonprofit centers opened as informal shelters.