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.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Rental Housing Board Will Consider Emergency Measures for Tenants Affected by January Windstorm, Eaton Fire

The Pasadena Rental Housing Board will meet Thursday, February 6 to consider emergency measures to help tenants affected by January’s devastating windstorm and Eaton Fire that triggered a local emergency declaration.

The Board will review existing and potential regulations to protect tenants whose rental units were damaged or destroyed by the winds and fire. The disaster that destroyed approximately 9,400 structures in Pasadena and Altadena, damaged an additional 1,073, and caused at least 17 civilian fatalities.

In Pasadena a total of 152 residential units were affected by the Eaton Fire: 140 single-family residences, six multifamily dwelling units, and six accessory dwelling units. The Rent Stabilization Department reported 14 rent-stabilized units were red-tagged and another unit yellow-tagged.

In civil engineering, a red-tagged structure is deemed unsafe for entry or occupancy due to severe damage or immediate hazards. Immediate evacuation and prohibition of entry. A yellow-tagged structure has restricted use, indicating moderate damage or potential hazards that require caution.

City Manager Miguel Marquez declared a Local Emergency on January 8,

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Red Cross to Transition Evacuation Center to Altadena

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

[UPDATED with information from the American Red Cross] According to a statement by the American Red Cross provided to Pasadena Now the evacuation center at the Pasadena Convention Center is closing its doors this weekend, and the organization is currently searching for a location in fire-ravaged Altadena.

“We are just moving the center to a better location,” said Angel Sauceda, regional communications director for the American Red Cross. “Most of them are Altadena residents, so we’re trying to move them somewhere where they’re closer to home so they can get back to a little more normalcy before we fully close our shelters.”

When Pasadena Now asked for confirmation that the Convention Center would be closing its doors on Fridays, Sauceda said, “Yes it will be” before supplying the information on the move.

The relocation is scheduled for this weekend. However, moving to Altadena could be a tall task as many of the buildings have been damaged or destroyed.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Judge Extends Block on Federal Funding Freeze Which Could Have Forced Major Cutbacks in Pasadena

By ANDRÈ COLEMAN, Managing Editor

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has extended a temporary block on a controversial plan by the Trump administration to freeze federal funding on grants and loans that primarily fund nonprofits.

The order blocks the Trump administration from locking up $3 trillion dollars as the administration reshapes its policies to match Trump’s opposition to progressive and liberal groups, including woke and gender ideology.

The organization originally announced the freeze last week, but Judge Loren AliKhan placed a temporary injunction on the order about 30 minutes before it was set to begin.

At that point, groups were already reporting they could not access already approved funds.

The freeze sent cities across the country, including Pasadena, into panic mode as they attempted to figure out how much they could lose in federal funding. About 70% of the funding from the City’s health department comes from grants. It is not know how many of those grants come from the federal government.

Monday, February 3, 2025

County: Nonprofits, Religious Organizations Are Eligible for Federal Wildfire Aid

Assistance available for organizations providing social services impacted by County fires

The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Public Assistance program, which traditionally supports repair and replacement of publicly owned infrastructure damaged in disasters, is extending aid to private nonprofit organizations and houses of worship in Los Angeles County impacted by recent wildfires. The initiative expands federal disaster recovery support to include faith-based groups and nonprofits that provide social services.

“Private nonprofits and faith-based groups that were impacted by the Los Angeles County Wildfires may be eligible for Public Assistance to help restore their damaged or destroyed facilities,” according to the January 31, 2025 announcement.

Organizations seeking assistance must complete a two-step application process. First, they need to create a Unique Entity ID at SAM.GOV to officially register their organization to apply for grants or loans from the federal government. They must then submit a Request for Public Assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency Grants Portal by Sunday, March 9,

Monday, February 3, 2025

LA County Chair Honors Heroes in Altadena Fire Response

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger praised community response efforts following the Eaton Fire in an email to constituents over the weekend.

Barger, who represents Pasadena, highlighted organizations and residents who provided immediate assistance to Altadena during the emergency.

“While we’ve witnessed unimaginable grief and loss in the wake of the Eaton Fire, we’ve also seen the very best of our community,” Barger wrote.

The board chair announced she had honored several “Eaton Fire Community Heroes” during this week’s Board of Supervisors meeting for their early response efforts and presented a list of some of the many who stepped up in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire.

Here is Barger’s emailed list:

The Altadena Rotary Club has raised more than $200,000 for community recovery. Although 13 of their members lost their homes, the club is still firmly committed to connecting residents to support. As a small club of 40 members, they are getting funds into the hands of those who need help with the rebuilding process and are actively working with the San Marino Rotary Club to provide thousands of dollars worth of supplies and gift cards that will be given away at a special event on Feb.