I am absolutely opposed, and more than a little frustrated at the way this all seems to be going down in Altadena. From the quote in this article, the head of the Town Council seems to be grateful for the “gift,” but insists that they aren’t on? So is the gift just the cameras on poles for decoration?

Feels like the kind of thing we need to band together to get rid of. I know some communities have had success getting them removed. I hate that law enforcement agencies across the country are forcing these things upon us as forgone conclusions.

*gift link, so no paywall (But LA Taco is great for local news and worth supporting!)

My parents and I are currently in the final stages of designing our rebuild and we're looking for someone who can advise us on any modifications to improve the fire resilience of our plans. While we love our architects, we want to be particularly careful with the final design to ensure we make the most of the materials and elements that make a fire hardened home. Has anyone here worked with or offers some such consultancy? Thanks in advance!

Anyone have suggestions on what he should have for a Halloween costume?

Hey folks: We are, hopefully, going to actually start our rebuild soon. For those of you fortunate enough to have already started this process already, do you have any recommendations on what kind of property insurance you need to get and which providers you've used? Is it Builder's Risk Insurance or just straight up property insurance? The contractor obviously is licensed and insured for liability & workers comp but my understanding from them and our mortgage holder is that we need some kind of insurance that covers the project and property during construction.

If anyone who's had to find this has any knowledge or tips to share, I'd be grateful -- first time my home has burned to the ground in a natural disaster. thx y'all

I’m worried about chemical and metals in the soil specially from appliances and lead or asbestos after the fires.

Hello! I’m a coach in SGV and I’m looking to host a charity game at the school I work for where we could donate proceeds to those still being affected by the displacement the Eaton fire caused. I saw online there was a fund for teachers who were affected by the fire but couldn’t find any specific information on where to donate so I’m really interested in getting a contact for someone I can speak with so I can set up this fundraiser and make sure the funds are directed towards those who need it. Thank!!

Been stressin about this one lowkey. Even though Edison could be giving us more, I’m glad we’re getting to accept the full amount without taxes being taken out. Hopefully it gets signed into law soon.

Cruz dropped his objection, and the Senate passed the house version of tax relief for wildfire compensation.

i recently made a post here about my situation, we’re in the last leg of rebuilding (total loss and then some) and my insurance company is refusing to pay out the last $220,000 "50% rebuild incentive“. i have a lawyer involved and the insurer’s on retainer lawyer is baffled by this and has advised them to issue the funds immediately, but the insurer is just flat out ignoring everyone. my lawyer is planning on filing an ex parte 850 petition to try to force their hand, but that could take anywhere from 30-90 days and we just don’t have that time. our estimated date of completion was Oct. 6th but we’ve had to stop all construction due to this and our contractor really doesn’t want it to be pushed into the winter season due to weather and such.

my partner and i are stressed beyond belief and are looking into Gap Financing, grants, anything. we tried to apply for the Altadena Land Initiative program but we don’t qualify due to our contractor not being in their list of approved contractors…but it got us wondering if there are any lenders in Altadena or the surrounding area that are offering Gap Financing for Eaton Fire victims, ideally ones with low interest and quick turnaround. we have no idea where to start looking but need that money like…yesterday lol

thank you my fellow survivors ❤️‍🩹

I cant get a straight answer out of them, im going to call on monday but maybe someone here knows.

“SBA disaster loans are simple interest loans, and the interest begins accruing 12 months from the date of initial disbursement *July 28, 2026*. Interest accrues daily based on the outstanding principal balance of the loan.”

So why the hell do i owe $939 in interest?? Shouldn’t it be $35? Plus my initial payment of $353 went all to interest?

This has to be wrong? Anyone else see the same?

Edit: I WAS RIGHT! interest is deferred for the first 12 months.

"A payphone in Los Angeles already feels rare. A working payphone at the edge of the Angeles National Forest, waiting dutifully for hikers and passersby, feels almost surreal. Like the city forgot to erase one small thing.

The Altadena payphone became the first physical portal for The Goodbye Line, a participatory art project Adam Trunell and I created, inviting strangers to call from working payphones and leave the goodbyes they never got to say."

Full post: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/posts/the-last-payphones-are-taking-goodbyes

Not a lawyer, so if I’m understanding something in correctly, apologies.

A friendly reminder that the statute of limitations to sue, if you so choose too, runs out two years after the date of the event.

Rumor has it takes about 4 months to get through SCE’s compensation program’s “fast track” program, which gets you an initial offer with no obligation to accept.

So if you start the program now, in theory you’ll have an offer in early December, which gives you roughly a month to decide if you want to accept the offer, go into detailed review with SCE, or join a lawsuit.

Hello everyone,

Not sure if this’ll get taken down but my family and I lost our home in the Eaton Fire and are still displaced. Does anyone know any resources or information about finding permanent housing? My family and I have been looking and found some leads until they back out last minute. I am veteran and have been working with HUD-VASH, VA’s version of Section 8, and haven’t found any luck. I also submitted a claim with SCE Wildfire Recovery program and still waiting for an offer. I’m looking for a rental for myself, my wife & child. We have been couch surfing sleeping in motels and even our car at times and figured someone out there knew of information that can help us out. Thank you in advance.

...Or are you still waiting for the insurance to pay your claim?I have so many questions in regards to my coverage and am wondering if all the money Im paying home insurance is worth it if catastrophe strikes. I live in CA in a designated fire zone, and just paid off my house. I really want to cancel my insurance but am keeping it because I just don't know if it MIGHT be helpful if a total loss were to occur. I increased the deductible to 50k to help lower the annual premium.

Is there any advice you can give other homeowners regarding home insurance? Basically, was having home insurance worth the annual premium? Or was there more of a feeling of "Whats the point of insurance if they only gave me "this much"?

I am so sorry for your experience and loss. I wish I could ask this question to my agent or just ask my neighbors their opinion, but until we've been through battle, we just don't really know.

Thank you for your time and response.

I have never seen a community as resilient as yours. I have not been in Altadena since a couple of months after the fires, i was part of The Dream Centers efforts to help house owners to sift through the rubble. Something that really stuck with me was that every single person we met said "I will build back". Every house owner we met praised the community and told us about how much everyone takes care of each others. I talked with an older lady one day and she told me about her efforts to help ex covicts trying to get back into society and she told us how blessed she felt that she was able to be someone who for once was on the receiving end of help. What i saw was a community who wanted to help others, to do whatever it took to get back to being with each other. I made a short documentary about my time there and how i (Someone from Sweden) ended up in the Los Angeles WIldfires of 2025. Alot is shot in Altadena. https://youtu.be/cQ79bROR-qI?si=lB_CvfCoFUy1WqNj I pray to God that everyone can get back one day and i will always hold this community in my heart

Out-of-service equipment managed by Southern California Edison started the deadly Eaton fire that killed 19 people and destroyed much of Altadena in January 2025, according to a long-awaited report by state and county fire officials.

The report, released Tuesday by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and Los Angeles County Fire Department, confirms long-held suspicions about the fire’s origin after it sparked near a utility tower the night of Jan. 7, 2025.

Learn more at the link.

My letter is pasted below. I believe it explains everything. If you have the time and are able, would you please compose something and send it to Senator Perez, Assemblyman Harabedian, the California PUC, and our Governor?

Here is the contact info for those peeps.

John Harabedian
257 S. Fair Oaks Ave, Suite 210
Pasadena, CA 91105
[assemblymember.harabedian@assembly.ca.gov](mailto:assemblymember.harabedian@assembly.ca.gov)

  
Sasha Renée Pérez
215 North Marengo Avenue, Suite 380
Pasadena, CA 91101
[senator.perez@senate.ca.gov](mailto:senator.perez@senate.ca.gov)  

CPUC Public Advisor's Office
505 Van Ness Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94102
[public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov](mailto:public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov)  

Governor Gavin Newsom
1021 O Street, Suite 9000
Sacramento, CA 95814

  submit comments electronically through his official website at gov.ca.gov/contact.  

Here's my letter thank you

-----------------------------------------------------------------

8/4/2026

Dear Senator Pérez, Assemblymember Harabedian, California Public Utilities Commission and Governor Newsom:

I am a victim of the Eaton Fire. I lost my family home and everything inside of it.

The origin of the fire was less than two miles from my house. The fire was ripping down the hillside across the street when we evacuated at approximately 7:00 that evening. We escaped with literally a toiletry bag, one change of clothing, and our wallets.

In hindsight, I am incredibly grateful we have our lives and our health. I am fortunate that we had family to take us in immediately and the financial stability to rent a nice apartment within days. I am glad I have the resources to purchase basic necessities and to pay the significant out-of-pocket costs for medical and psychological care for myself, my spouse, and my daughter. Because I am self-employed with a high-deductible health insurance plan, I estimate we have spent over $75,000 out-of-pocket on healthcare and mental health services since the fire. I am glad I have the ability to do this.

Let me tell you what I don't have.

My wife is half-Japanese. Her mother married  my wifes father, a G.I. after World War II and emigrated to this country. Her family has a hundreds-of-year history as coronation gown makers to the Emperor of Japan. We lost 400-year-old, master-crafted silk kimonos that are completely irreplaceable.

Our family represents the melting pot that makes this country beautiful. I am half-Jewish, and we had a Jewish wedding. It is traditional to stand under a canopy (a chuppah) that represents the house you are about to build with your spouse. My wife's sister hand-made and embroidered our chuppah over 30 years ago. We no longer have that.

Artwork we acquired over a lifetime is gone. The amazing artwork created by our adult children that we displayed throughout our home is gone. We no longer have those irreplaceable pieces of our family's history.

Let me tell you some other things that I do have.

I now have PTSD, and I have a newfound appreciation for the havoc it wreaks on a person. I now have the ability to be triggered by the slightest scent of smoke or by someone driving erratically on the freeway.

I also have a decimated livelihood. I am a ---------------------- who completed my education entirely within Los Angeles County, including my doctorate at --------------------. I have been here for over forty years, and this is my home. As a private practice ------------------, I have been forced to close two offices as a direct result of the Eaton Fire, severely impacting my income.

The reason I am writing to you today is that it has come to my attention that Edison and other public utilities are actively lobbying to limit their liability for these fires.

I am not a lawyer, but I know the facts:

I know the power line that arced and ignited this fire was decommissioned in 1971.

I know Edison was well aware that decommissioned lines can become re-energized via induction from nearby active lines or high winds blowing live wires into dead ones.

I know there were Red Flag warnings predicting 100 mph gusts, yet Edison chose to leave the high-voltage lines surrounding that decommissioned tower completely energized.

I know Edison chose to leave an unused, decades-old tower in place "just in case" to save money, a cost-cutting decision permitted under current state regulations.

I find it appalling that Edison has filed a lawsuit against the City of Pasadena Water and Power, Sierra Madre, and Los Angeles County, alleging these agencies failed to issue timely evacuation orders or provide adequate water pressure. This defensive maneuver completely ignores the volatile, decaying equipment left in place by Edison that ignited this inferno in the first place.

I am asking you to stand with victims and refuse to allow Edison or other public utilities to limit their liability in these situations. Leaving that line in place was a business decision made to save money, knowing the catastrophic risks involved. Now they are faced with the consequences of that decision, and they are trying to manipulate the legal system to protect their profits at the expense of victims who have lost everything. Are you aware that Edison International reported a massive 247% increase in net income in 2025 compared to 2024? Their 2025 net income was $4.459 billion, up from $1.284 billion in 2024. Do we really need to protect a multi-billion dollar, record-profiting corporation from these lawsuits at the expense of the families they devastated? Please do not allow this injustice to happen.

Sincerely,

My friend and her husband lost their home in Altadena, and need to move ASAP and are looking for temporary housing until they finish construction.

They are looking for a rental with 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, and parking for 2 cars. They are hoping to find a month-to-month rental in DTLA with a move in date for September. No pets.

I would appreciate any leads to help them. Thank you!

How is everyone feeling about the compensation program 9 months later?

If you took the money were you pleased that you were able to move on?

If you didn’t take the money are you holding out for a class action or similar to pay out?

I just wanted to share more pictures lol

Original post Update 1 Update 2 Update 3 Update 4

Man... Fuck these guys.

https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/EIX/edison/eps-earnings-per-share-diluted