Thursday, August 20, 2026

LA County Rescue Team Returning from Colombia Quake Mission

CITY NEWS SERVICE

An urban search and rescue team from the Los Angeles County Fire Department will return Thursday evening from Colombia, where it was sent to assist with recovery efforts from last week’s deadly earthquake.

The department’s USA-02 urban search and rescue team was deployed last Wednesday by the U.S. State Department. The team consists of seven experts from the county fire department and three structural specialists from the county Department of Public Works.

In Colombia, they partnered with a 10-member search and rescue team from Fairfax County, Virginia.

The mission supported USAR coordination, communications, heavy rigging and delayering operations and structural engineering assessments, the county fire department stated.

Colombia was struck by a magnitude-7.4 earthquake on Aug. 10, with hundreds killed and thousands trapped in the rubble of collapsed structures. It was the largest earthquake ever recorded in the country.

The fire department also sent a team to Venezuela on June 25 to assist in search operations following a pair of earthquakes that obliterated portions of that country’s central region.

Thursday, August 20, 2026

LA County Court Seeking Applicants for Civil Grand Jury

CITY NEWS SERVICE

The Los Angeles County Superior Court announced Wednesday it is seeking residents interested in serving on the 23-member Civil Grand Jury for the 2027-28 term.

The court said it is seeking “civic-minded residents” interested in public service and government oversight who would investigate and review county, city and joint-powers agencies.

Jurors will receive training before conducting reviews that may extend over several weeks or months. The panel will prepare a final report containing its findings and recommendations at the conclusion of its one-year term, according to the court.

No prior jury service or investigative experience is required. Applicants must be U.S. citizens at least 18 years old, be able to read and speak English and have lived in Los Angeles County for at least one year, court officials said.

Civil grand jurors typically devote 30 to 40 hours per week to their duties and meet most days at 222 S. Hill St. in downtown Los Angeles.

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Southern California Homes Could Face New Wildfire-Safety Requirements

CITY NEWS SERVICE

Wildfire-safety rules approved by a state board Wednesday would require homeowners in fire-prone areas of Southern California and across the state to reduce combustible materials within five feet of their homes.

The California Board of Forestry and Fire Protection approved the final draft of its first-in-the-nation “Zone 0″ defensible-space regulations, which are intended to reduce the risk that wind-driven embers will ignite homes during wildfires.

The regulations apply to homes in areas where the state or local governments have identified a high risk of wildfire, including State Responsibility Areas and locally managed areas designated as Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones.

Zone 0 covers the first five feet surrounding a structure, an area state fire officials say is particularly vulnerable to ignition from embers. The regulations divide that area into a non-combustible safety zone immediately adjacent to a structure and a low-combustibility area extending through the remainder of the 5-foot zone.

“The area defined in this regulation is the most critical zone for protecting a home,

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Eaton Fire Survivors Head to Sacramento to Press State Leaders for Recovery Funds

By EDDIE RIVERA

More than 100 residents and advocates make two-day trip seeking $25 million for CARE Fund

More than 100 Eaton Fire survivors, residents, workers and community advocates headed to Sacramento Tuesday for a two-day campaign urging state leaders to provide $25 million for a recovery fund aimed at helping displaced Altadena residents return and rebuild.

Before boarding buses at the Pasadena Community Job Center Tuesday morning, survivors and leaders of the Dena Rise Up Coalition held a press conference outlining their demands and describing the financial and housing pressures still facing residents more than a year and a half after the January 2025 fire.

The coalition is seeking $25 million for the proposed Community Aid for Rebuilding Equity, or CARE, Fund, which would provide rebuilding-gap assistance for lower-income homeowners and help preserve and expand affordable housing for renters and working families.

“Recovery cannot be measured by promises. It must be measured by whether families can come home,” coalition spokesperson Florence Annang said.

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Third Eaton Fire Senior Summit Brings Rebuilding and Insurance Guidance to Pasadena Thursday

A six-hour forum on rebuilding after the Eaton fire meets Thursday, Aug. 20, in Pasadena. The third Eaton Fire Senior Summit runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Pasadena Hilton, 168 S. Los Robles Ave.

Community Women Vital Voices and BMO Bank present the summit under the title “Rebuilding with Confidence.” The organizers describe it as a community forum for seniors, families and community leaders.

Three subjects are on the program. They are contractors and rebuilding, insurance claims, and consumer protection and fraud prevention.

Community Women Vital Voices is a Pasadena-based nonprofit led by Lena Louise Kennedy. The organization says it works with Black women, families and seniors across Pasadena and Altadena. It works to carry forward the legacy of Councilmember John J. Kennedy.

The group says its fire recovery work has included earlier senior summits and the distribution of resource guides. It also says it organized a public forum with Southern California Edison to press for compensation for fire victims.

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

New County Authority Can Press Edison to Reduce Undergrounding Charges, But Not Compel It

County undergrounding aid, if approved, wouldn’t reach Altadena until late 2027 — and wouldn’t cover work already done

Los Angeles County’s plan to help Altadena homeowners pay to underground their utility connections has not been funded, would not pay out until late 2027 and would not reimburse work already completed, a county official told the Altadena Town Council on Tuesday.

Ciara Barnett, an assistant deputy director with county Public Works who said she is serving in a new role with the county’s Rebuild Authority, told the council that Public Works and the Rebuild Authority filed an application in March 2026 for FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program money that would offset private-property undergrounding costs for fire survivors.

The county is working with Cal OES to secure the funding from FEMA, she said. The application has been received and deemed eligible, but a decision is not expected until the end of 2027.

“The funding is not secured,” Barnett said.

If awarded,

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Weekly Fire Recovery Job Session Returns to the Altadena Job Center Thursday

Los Angeles County holds its weekly Fire Recovery Thursdays employment session from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 20, at the Altadena job center, 464 W. Woodbury Road, Suite 210.

The pop-ups are run by the county Department of Economic Opportunity and its America’s Job Centers of California for workers and job seekers affected by the January 2025 wildfires and windstorms. They run at all 18 county job centers.

Services are free for wildfire-affected youth and adults 14 and older. They include career planning, job-readiness support, job training, paid work experience and direct connections to employers hiring.

“These Fire Recovery Thursday pop-ups can be a lifeline,” Supervisor Kathryn Barger said of the program.

The Altadena center is operated by Managed Career Solutions. Other locations are listed at https://www.ajcc.lacounty.gov/ajcc, or by calling (888) 226-6300.

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Altadena Library Cancels Both Thursday Bookmobile Stops as Heat Advisory Runs Its Final Day

The Altadena Library District has canceled both of its Curiosity Connection mobile library stops for Thursday, Aug. 20.

The morning stop at Altadena Triangle Park, 800 E. Altadena Drive, set for 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the afternoon stop at Prime Pizza, set for 2:30 to 5 p.m., are both off.

Thursday is the final day of a National Weather Service heat advisory covering the San Gabriel Valley, which expires at 8 p.m. Highs of 95 to 105 degrees are forecast across the valleys, 4 to 8 degrees above normal.

Two Altadena Library programs remain scheduled Thursday: English as a Second Language classes from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Bob Lucas Memorial Library and Literacy Center, 2659 Lincoln Ave., and free notary service from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at the Eaton Fire Collaboratory.

The bookmobile returns to both stops Thursday, Aug. 27.

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

Free Notary and Federal Disaster Loan Help Share One Altadena Address Thursday

Two free services for Altadena residents run Thursday, Aug. 20, at the same address on West Woodbury Road: notary appointments from the Altadena Library District and help from representatives of the U.S. Small Business Administration for survivors still working through disaster loan applications.

The Small Business Administration’s Disaster Loan Outreach Center at the Eaton Fire Collaborative, 540 W. Woodbury Road, is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The filing deadline for this disaster has passed, and the center is focused on survivors who have already applied and need help completing an application or moving it forward. New applications may be accepted case by case in extraordinary circumstances.

That distinction matters for anyone who has not yet filed. The center is not an intake site for new claims, and residents in that position would be relying on an exception rather than the ordinary process.

The agency’s disaster assistance covers homeowners, renters, nonprofits and businesses of all sizes affected by the January 2025 wildfires and windstorms,

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

No Court Reporter? Record The Hearing, California Supreme Court Rules

By Ryan Sabalow, CALMATTERS

In a blow to court reporter unions, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday that courts must allow electronic recordings of hearings when a certified professional reporter is not available.

The justices found that a California law forbidding electronic recordings in most cases unfairly trampled on the rights of residents who could not afford to hire a certified reporter.

Reporters unions have been battling for years to ban or severely restrict recording in all but a few types of court cases. They argue that having certified professionals in a courtroom ensures accurate court transcripts that are vital to how the justice system functions.

But, as CalMatters reported last year, a massive shortage of reporters has resulted in millions of hearings without a written record of the proceedings. A transcript is usually needed to appeal a case. Recordings give parties in a legal dispute the option of later having a hearing transcribed by a certified professional.