The Brief

Randy and Miki Quinton held hands as they walked uphill into what remains of their neighborhood in Altadena, the unincorporated Los Angeles suburb where they had lived for more than 20 years. After they entered the barricaded neighborhood through an open alleyway with two of their friends on Friday, the husband and wife confronted a scene of utter devastation: The Eaton Fire had incinerated hundreds of homes and cars in the middle-class neighborhood, leaving behind only ash-soaked chimneys and flaming gas lines. The Quintons’ own house had been vaporized, along with all their belongings.

“Twenty-four, forty-eight hours, and it’s all gone,” Randy Quinton told Grist.

The Quintons and thousands of other families now confront a living nightmare as they begin to recover from the most devastating wildfire outbreak in modern U.S. history. The Palisades Fire, which overwhelmed coastal neighborhoods about 30 miles away, and the Eaton Fire have together killed at least 24 people and destroyed well over 10,000 structures.

How the victims rebuild their lives will now depend largely on California’s beleaguered home insurance market. Unlike many fire victims in other parts of the L.A. area, the Quintons and many of their neighbors had been able to maintain their insurance policies in the leadup to the fire, even as companies dropped thousands of other fire-prone customers across California and in other states across the country.

“We’re blessed in that regard,” said Quinton.

The coverage may bode well for the recovery of the diverse neighborhood, which was home to many long-tenured Black families that have owned property in Altadena since the Civil Rights era. That stability may not last, however, as California’s insurance market continues to contract following the fires, which have caused more than $20 billion in insured losses, according to preliminary estimates. Insurance companies will almost certainly have to raise prices and drop risky customers to make up for billions of dollars in payouts on high-value L.A. homes. While the availability of insurance in recent years may help displaced Altadena residents return, they will be coming back to a neighborhood that will likely be far less affordable than it once was. In a county where the median home price is around $900,000, that leaves the future uncertain for many longtime Angelenos.

Despite the fact that Altadena sits within a wildland-urban interface — the area where housing development pushes up against the fire-prone hills — Altadena’s affected neighborhoods do not appear on a list of “distressed areas” that the state insurance commissioner published last year. The average premiums in the neighborhood were around $2,300 a year, well below those of other fire-prone areas in the north of the state, and fewer than 10 percent of people in the areas that burned got their coverage through the state-backed insurer of last resort, though that number has been ticking up in recent years.

“Without [insurance] we’d be lost, it’d be over,” said Kevin Devine, a security guard and lifelong Altadena resident who also lost his house in the fires. “We’ve been here all our life, and I think we’re going to be able to come back stronger. We’re not going to let a fire stop us.”

Devine grew up in the house, which his mother bought almost half a century ago. He returned to the neighborhood last week to examine the wreckage of his home with his son and his twin brother, Keith, who is also a security guard. His sister lived up the road and lost her home as well, but Kevin said the siblings could stay with family members in a nearby suburb while they waited to rebuild their homes.

Kevin Devine stands in front of his destroyed home in the Altadena area of Los Angeles. Devine and thousands of others lost their homes to the Eaton Fire.

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Jake Bittle

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Grist

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The insurance situation is much different in wealthy Pacific Palisades, where another massive wildfire still raged early this week. Even before the fire, most homeowners in the Palisades and on the shoreline near Malibu could no longer secure traditional insurance coverage, which meant they had to rely on the California FAIR Plan, the state-backed insurer of last resort. Even that was not enough to cover many homes: The FAIR plan only covers damages up to $3 million, and many homes in Pacific Palisades are worth far more than that. People in those homes often secured coverage through so-called surplus lines insurers that charge premiums that run in the tens of thousands of dollars per year.

Altadena has not yet experienced issues like these, but that might not last. California prohibits insurance companies from dropping customers in fire-struck areas for at least a year, but customers might be issued non-renewals as soon as that moratorium expires. In the meantime, insurance companies might stop writing new policies for people who move into the neighborhood. California also just finalized rules that will allow insurers to increase prices further and faster. (Insurance companies say these increases are necessary to account for climate change and inflation.)

The impact of the loss in the wealthy Palisades will also be felt in more modest Altadena, as insurers pay out billions of dollars in claims on high-value homes. The FAIR plan has a stunning $24 billion of exposure in the area affected by the fires, and paying out those claims over the coming years would wipe out its existing reserves. Once the program runs out of money, it will impose an assessment on insurance companies according to their market share in the state, which can then pass the costs of that assessment to their customers, including those in less vulnerable areas.

This all means that Altadena may soon experience both a rise in insurance prices and gaps in coverage, which will raise pressure on homeowners as they return — and may weigh on the value of their homes.

“I don’t expect an insurance market collapse,” said Nancy Watkins, a principal actuary at Milliman, a leading risk analysis firm. However, she added, “I think prices may be depressed by insurance premiums going up, and people being potentially more fearful of living in California.”

There is one way to mitigate this price pressure: If Altadena rebuilds in a manner that is more resilient to wildfires, using fire-resistant home materials for new construction and carving out a buffer between the city and the fire-prone mountains nearby, insurance companies would be required under California law to offer future residents discounts on their premiums. The town of Paradise mandated such construction after the 2018 Camp Fire destroyed thousands of homes there. Insurance companies have finally started offering policies in Paradise again in recent months.

It will be up to the government of Los Angeles County, which has jurisdiction over unincorporated Altadena, to decide on the standards for the town’s rebuild.

Nic Arnzen, a member of Altadena’s town council who lost his home in the fire, said that he believed the county needed tougher standards for fire-safe construction.

“The county has been working on that,” he told Grist. “They are not sufficient at this point, and as a town, we will use our strength to be sure that our town is safe.” However, he also added that residents are anxious to protect the neighborhood’s architectural history and said he hoped the county government would offer residents flexibility as they secured permits to rebuild.

“We have been assured that they will lift some certain restrictions and make the process easier,” he said. Many older homes in the neighborhood that were destroyed in the fire would be too large to rebuild under current codes.

When it comes to the town’s proximity to the fire-prone San Gabriel Mountains, Arnzen said Altadena was the victim of poor timing. The town council had just helped the county approve a long-term plan to gradually reduce housing density in the most dangerous foothills of the town. It was scheduled to go into effect this year and might have minimized some of the damage from the fire.

“We were already on that, but we missed it by a year,” he said.

Some government funding streams for L.A. County’s public health system are drying up, and officials are turning to private philanthropy to fill the gap.

A new privately funded foundation launched Thursday to strengthen public health services after $50 million in federal, state and local funding cuts to the county’s Department of Public Health since early last year.

“It is really a hard day for our community when we have to ask for private donations to fund a public good, but unfortunately, we've lost too much money to not take this important step,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

In February, the county’s Public Health Department closed seven clinics, with six remaining open. About half of the patients seen in those clinics are uninsured, according to county officials. The department also cut hundreds of staff positions.

Ferrer is on the board of the new foundation, The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA, which held its first meeting Thursday.

She said the fund will help the county maintain its basic public health infrastructure, including disease prevention, health promotion, environmental health, and emergency response efforts.

Other board members include several health insurance executives, as well as actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 to the fund Thursday. Kayne said she hopes the donation encourages others to give.

The foundation aims to raise $2 million this year.

More cuts expected

L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said it’s crucial to have an alternative funding stream to protect services for the county's most vulnerable residents.

“We are saving public health,” Mitchell said. “This fund represents a new approach, one that brings together government philanthropy in the private sector to invest in community-based solutions, protect vulnerable populations, and strengthen our public health infrastructure.”

Officials say more public health cuts are coming, through the federal budget law known as the "Big Beautiful Bill," which slashes funding for Medi-Cal.

The county Department of Public Health anticipates losing up to $300 million in revenue over the next three years because of the federal budget bill and other potential funding freezes. Federal funding accounts for almost 50% of the public health budget, according to county officials.

Mitchell also led an effort to put a half-percent county sales tax increase to fund public health on the June ballot.

If approved by voters, that proposal, known as Measure ER, is expected to raise about $1 billion a year for county safety net health services, including about $100 million for the public health department.

Board members

The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA announced its founding board of directors, which includes:

• Dr. Barbara Ferrer, LA County Department of Public Health director
• Debbie I. Chang, Blue Shield of California Foundation CEO
• Sean Penn, actor and co-founder of Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE)
• Martha Santana-Chin, LA Care Health Plan CEO
• Saree Kayne, R&S Kayne Foundation CEO
• Danny Trejo, actor and restaurateur
• Jarrett Barrios, an executive at the American Red Cross
• Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Charles R. Drew University College of Medicine Dean
• Kristin McCowan, an executive at the Los Angeles Dodgers

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena may be a centenarian, but it’s holding up pretty well as it continues to host events on its way to a starring role in the LA28 Olympics.

But before it can host the soccer final, it needs fixes, especially to the infrastructure serving the bathrooms and drinking fountains. Fears of a toilet backup while in the world’s spotlight led Rep. Laura Friedman to seek federal funds for upgrades. On Thursday she announced she secured just over $1 million.

“Two years from now, athletes around the world are going to compete for gold right where we are standing. This is not the time to find out whether or not these pipes are up to the task,” Friedman said.

The planned work, she added, will lead to improved water flow capacity and water drainage, eliminating the risk of backups and emergency maintenance.

The funds came from the House of Representatives Interior and Environment subcommittee. The fixes, an official said, will be completed by the LA28 Olympics.

The funds, however, are a drop in the bucket when it comes to what’s needed to make needed improvements to the Pasadena venue.

Officials, including (left to right) Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation President Dedan Brozino, Deputy Fire Chief of the City of Pasadena Tim Sell, Congresswoman Laura Friedman, and Rose Bowl Stadium CEO Jens Weiden announced infrastructure funding for the 103-year old Rose Bowl.

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“Over the  next 20 years there's about $200 million that we need to put in and that's everything from updating light fixtures to updating gas, water, wastewater lines, etc.,” said Dedan Brozino,  president of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, the nonprofit that supports the Rose Bowl stadium's preservation and enhancement.

Getting venues ready will be expensive

The money is a much-needed win at a time when elected officials in city, county, state and federal offices have been struggling to find the funds to get L.A.-area venues ready for the global Olympic stage in two years.

The entrance to a men's bathroom at the Rose Bowl.

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A $360 million proposal to spruce up asphalt in parking lots around Exposition Park won’t be done in time for the Olympics, as originally planned. Meanwhile, just up the street, there’s concern that a $2.6 billion expansion of the L.A. Convention Center, which is hosting Olympic wrestling, fencing and judo in 2028 won’t be ready for the Olympics.

Additionally, to save money, LA28 organizers moved Olympic diving to the Rose Bowl complex last year because it has two Olympic-sized pools, while the Exposition Park complex doesn't and would need expensive upgrades.

Topline:

About the chick: The chick hatched March 14. The zoo opened its Cape vulture enclosure in February 2025 after years of planning to encourage the birds to roost and nest, welcoming a new breeding pair that year. When it grows to be an adult, it’ll have a wingspan of 8 1/2 feet.

About the enclosure: The L.A. Zoo said it spent years developing the vulture habitat, which was designed to mimic the vultures’ natural environment in South Africa and nearby countries. Dominick Dorsa II, the zoo’s director of animal care, said in a statement the successful hatching is “a testament to the design and construction” of the habitat.

How to see the chick: You can’t for the time being. Zoo officials are keeping it away from visitors until the chick matures, though you can still see adult Cape vultures at the zoo’s enclosure.

Though visitors will have to wait until the chick matures to see it in the enclosure, you can still take in the impressive eight and a half foot wingspan of the adult Cape vultures.

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What zoo officials are saying: “Welcoming a Cape vulture chick is a thrilling moment for our team and a beacon of hope for African vultures,” the L.A. Zoo’s curator of birds Rose Legato said in a statement. “Vultures are one of nature's most misunderstood marvels, and I cannot wait for our guests to eventually watch this chick grow and learn just how vital they are to our ecosystems.”

About the species: Cape vultures are listed as a vulnerable species due to human activities and encroachment. According to the L.A. Zoo, African vultures are more closely related to eagles and hawks than vultures native to the Americas, like the zoo's California condors that hatched last year.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

What should have been a celebration for formerly incarcerated youth completing a reentry program at the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) last week instead ended with seven students and two staff members detained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to witnesses. 

Now, nearly a week later, BHAC staff and city officials are demanding answers from the LAPD, with some accusing officers of racial profiling. 

According to the LAPD, officers observed a large group gathered on the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Mott Street around 4:16 p.m. on March 26. Authorities then requested backup for what they described as “a large group surrounding officers,” LAPD Public Information Officer Tony Im said. 

The group, classified by police as an “aggressive gang group,” consisted of seven 18-year-old students from the BHAC’s Bridge Academy Movement (BAM) program and two BHAC staff members.

The BAM program pays formerly incarcerated youth to complete 200-250 hours in media and visual arts training to prepare them for creative careers. That day, students were set to showcase their work at the BAM program graduation for families and community members. 

Rene Weber, a teaching artist at the BHAC, had been with the students setting up for the ceremony minutes before the incident occurred. 

According to Weber, the students had gone to coffee across the street at Milpa Kitchen as they often did, when staff were alerted that they were being detained. 

Weber said he arrived to find students and a staff member pressed against the wall in handcuffs. 

Video from the scene, taken by a staff member at the BHAC, shows multiple officers surrounding the group. At one point, an officer orders a person to “get on the wall” and displays a stun gun.  

“No, none of that, these are kids right here,” the staff member replies.

Another staff member, Teotl Veliz, recorded a large police response.  

“I counted 12 cop cars, that’s at least 25 cops, and they had a helicopter,” Veliz said. “It was just so comedic, tragically comedic, that it was on their graduation day too.”

Officers established a perimeter with yellow tape along the side of Ashley’s Beauty Salon as local business owners and witnesses gathered around the students. 

“I was just incredibly disappointed in LAPD… because it became so apparent to everybody, all at the same time, that it was racial profiling and nothing else,” Veliz said.

Weber said officers gave shifting explanations for the stop at the scene, including blocking the sidewalk and possible underage vaping. After Weber told the officers that all of the students were 18, they said they would investigate whether the group had any gang affiliation. 

Police have not responded to questions about what led officers to believe that the group was gang-affiliated. 

Weber recalled pleading with the officers to let the group go and explaining to them that they worked across the street. Community members and local business owners also stepped in to vouch for the students. 

“Our job is to help them gain a new perspective on life,” Weber said. “They’re coming out of juvenile detention and they’re turning their lives around. We can do our part in keeping them off the streets and keeping them doing better but what does it mean if they’re going to be profiled and treated exactly the same way?” 

In total, seven 18-year-old students and two staff members were detained. BHAC staff said one student and one staff member were taken to Hollenbeck Community Police Station and released less than two hours later after advocacy from community members and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado.

The incident ultimately resulted in an infraction for smoking a cannabis e-vape on a public sidewalk, according to a photo of the infraction shared with the Beat. LAPD did not provide details about the people taken to Hollenbeck Station or the infraction. 

The graduation ceremony was cancelled that night and is expected to be rescheduled in April. 

“Graduation should be a moment of pride and possibility — not fear,” Jurado said in a statement. “I’m seeking answers about what occurred, and this underscores the need for stronger relationships between law enforcement and community organizations so moments like these are protected, not disrupted.”

Carmelita Ramirez‑Sanchez, the conservatory’s executive director, said she was grateful to the community and Jurado for advocating for the students’ release. Jurado met her at Hollenbeck Station within 20 minutes of being alerted to the incident, she said. 

“They had store owners, señoras, barbers, that ran out and were trying to explain to the police who our kids were,” Ramirez‑Sanchez said. 

Still, she said the incident tarnished what should have been a joyous celebration.

“I imagine that what this does is derail this entire idea that you can be an active participant in your own restorative growth,” she said.