Tuesday, December 16, 2025

Altadena Businesses Among Those Receiving LA County Wildfire Relief Grants

Based on Report by CITY NEWS SERVICE

Los Angeles County has closed its small business and worker relief program after distributing $23.4 million to those impacted by January’s wildfires, including Altadena’s Cafe de Leche, county officials announced Monday.

The Department of Economic Opportunity awarded $17.7 million to 2,181 small businesses and nonprofits and $5.7 million to 2,892 workers. Officials said the program received 14,477 complete applications, underscoring the scale of economic damage caused by the Eaton, Palisades and other regional fires earlier this year.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena and co-sponsored the program, said in a statement that the relief effort was designed to stabilize lives quickly. “Closing this fund with every eligible applicant served is a testament to what we can accomplish when government, philanthropy and community partners collaborate to meet urgent needs,” Barger said.

The LA Region Small Business and Worker Relief Funds program was created in response to the January 2025 windstorms and wildfires, which destroyed or damaged 1,907 brick-and-mortar businesses and disrupted 39,000 businesses employing 230,000 workers.

Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who represents Pacific Palisades and led efforts to establish the program, said in a statement that “fire survivors deserve nothing less than a full and fair recovery.”

Altadena business owner Anya Schodorf, founder of Cafe de Leche, said her company was among those awarded funds. “We applied for the grant. When we got it, we were so happy and so grateful that we go [sic] the fund because it’s going to help us focus on rebuilding,” Schodorf said in a statement.

Small businesses and nonprofits were awarded up to $25,000, while workers received $2,000 each. Funds were distributed through public-private partnerships with the county’s Center for Strategic Partnerships, Southern California Grantmakers as fiscal sponsor, and AidKit as the third-party administrator.

The program began less than a month after the wildfires. Initial funding included $1 million from Care First Community Investment funds, followed by $4 million from the Board of Supervisors. Additional support came from philanthropic partners such as the California Community Foundation, CalFire, Annenberg Foundation, Hilton Foundation, Kanye Foundation, Fire Aid and Prologis; corporate contributors including Wells Fargo and Google; and state leadership from Governors’ LA Rises, led by Mark Walter, Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Casey Wasserman. Contributions also came from the Walter Family Foundation, Maersk and APM Terminals, along with donations from the public through the county’s relief website at lacounty.gov/relief/.

More information about the program is available at opportunity.lacounty.gov/small-business-worker-relief-funds.