Thursday, February 26, 2026

Altadena Business Owners Get Another Shot at Recovery Guidance Tonight

Harold DeLouise, insurance specialist, will be featured tonight at the Roundtable.

A Pasadena-based wildfire law firm hosts a roundtable for entrepreneurs still navigating the Eaton Fire’s aftermath

More than 13 months after the Eaton Fire wiped out roughly half of this community’s businesses, a Pasadena-based plaintiff law consortium is holding a roundtable tonight aimed at helping surviving business owners understand their recovery options.

LA Fire Justice — a consortium of wildfire attorneys that has filed lawsuits against Southern California Edison on behalf of Eaton Fire survivors — is hosting the Business Roundtable from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Altadena Design Works Resource Center, 409 E. Woodbury Rd. According to the organization’s website, all guidance will be educational and non-legal, and no direct negotiation or communication with insurers will take place at the event.

The Altadena Chamber of Commerce, founded in 1924, is promoting the event through its social media and events calendar, listing LA Fire Justice as a chamber member. Chamber posts on February 21 described it as “LA Fire Justice presents Business Roundtable.”

LA Fire Justice is headquartered at 221 E. Walnut St., Suite 100, in Pasadena. Its CEO is Chris Holden, a former Pasadena Mayor and City Councilmember who served 24 years on the council before serving as a California State Assemblyman for the 41st District from 2012 to 2024. Lead attorneys include Doug Boxer, a California-licensed attorney since 1991 who has represented more than 20,000 wildfire clients, and Mikal Watts, who has handled 22 wildfire cases representing 21,000 survivors across six states. Consumer advocate Erin Brockovich is also affiliated with the group; the organization’s website notes she is a non-attorney spokesperson and that Holden is not an attorney.

“Recovery is not just about rebuilding homes,” Holden said at a community event last fall. “It’s about restoring the fabric of our community.”

The roundtable takes place against a backdrop of ongoing legal, financial, and recovery pressures for Altadena businesses. The January 7, 2025, Eaton Fire — the second most destructive wildfire in California history — killed 19 people and destroyed 9,414 structures. The January 2025 fires collectively disrupted 39,000 businesses countywide employing 230,000 workers, according to county recovery data.

Edison faces hundreds of lawsuits from fire victims, insurers, and government entities. The utility launched a voluntary Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program in October 2025, which as of February 13, 2026, had received 2,345 claims representing 6,778 individuals, extended more than 500 offers, and delivered more than $165 million in proposed settlements, according to an Edison International press release. Claimants who accept settlement offers agree not to pursue further litigation against the company. Edison has not admitted liability for the fire.

The program is one of several pathways available to business owners, who face a more constrained set of state insurance protections than homeowners. State law provisions that allow homeowners to receive upfront payouts without a full inventory do not extend to businesses, according to fire recovery advocates and attorneys.

Two weeks ago, on February 11, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a civil rights investigation into how Los Angeles County prepared for and responded to the Eaton Fire, with particular attention to disparities in the historically Black community of West Altadena. Bonta said evacuation warnings for that neighborhood arrived “many hours” after warnings went to the rest of Altadena. Nearly all 19 of the fire’s fatalities occurred in the western section of town.

The venue — Altadena Design Works Resource Center — opened in September 2025 as a community co-op and rebuilding resource hub. It was founded by Freddy Sayegh, a 51-year Altadena resident who lost family properties in the fire and also founded the Altadena Coalition. The space regularly hosts LA Fire Justice events, including mental health workshops and insurance assistance sessions.

No specific agenda or speaker list for tonight’s Business Roundtable has been published. RSVPs are available at lafirejustice.com/events.

“This fight is personal to me,” Holden said in a letter to clients last year. “For more than 35 years, I have dedicated my life to serving this community.”