The Brief

When she got the news, Bonnie Brimecombe was standing on a sidewalk outside her in-laws’ house in Monrovia, where she had evacuated amid the chaos of this month's fires. It was a video, sent by a colleague, showing the charred remnants of Odyssey South Charter School, where Brimecombe has been principal for three years.

Classrooms, desks, books, the owl murals, the fourth-graders’ quilt project, the newly planted native plant garden — all scorched by the Eaton Fire. Flames still lapped at one building, as the rest of the campus smouldered.

“It was gone,” Brimecombe said, choking back tears. “And then all the text messages from families started coming in. You’re just getting message after message, ‘My home is lost; I have nothing.’ The school didn’t even matter at that point. You just think about the families.”

Odyssey South, a popular TK-8 charter school in Altadena, was among the dozen or so schools destroyed in the Los Angeles fires. At least 40% of the school’s families and 10 staff members lost their homes. As of Friday, 5% of families were still unaccounted for.

Like at all the damaged schools, staff are navigating their own fire hardships while frantically scouring the city for new classroom space. With recovery just beginning, the most important thing, they said, is to bring an element of normalcy to children whose lives have been upended.

Searching for a new school

As soon as she saw the video, Brimecombe and her staff “grieved for a few minutes” and then got to work looking for a new school. They’ve toured other school sites, churches, office buildings, even a vacant Bed Bath & Beyond. They’ve talked to real estate agents and countless property owners who’ve offered to help.

But it’s not easy to find space for 375 students. The first hurdle is enrollment — Brimecome isn’t sure how many students will actually return. Some evacuated to other counties or even other states.

Another challenge is competition. There aren’t that many vacant spaces in the Pasadena area suitable for a school, yet there are at least five schools looking for space. Not all have the same needs, and they’re cooperating when they can, but there’s still not enough space for all the schools who need it.

The next obstacle is more practical. A vacant office building seemed perfect, but where would Brimecombe and her staff find hundreds of school desks and chairs? A nearby school offered to share its campus, but there wasn’t enough space for the entire student body so they’d have to split up — not a desirable option when students need continuity and to be with their friends, Brimecombe said.

And the final obstacle is money. Like many charter schools, Odyssey leases its campus from a school district. The school has insurance but no control over the district’s plans to rebuild. The state and federal governments will provide some funding, but as an independent charter organization, Odyssey is mostly on its own. It can’t raise money through a bond, and it lacks the staff to navigate the labyrinth of grants, permits and other paperwork. Although the school has launched an online fundraiser, staff aren’t sure how much money they’ll need or how much they can expect from various sources.

Odyssey isn’t alone. Los Angeles County has a high concentration of charter schools, and at least a half dozen were damaged or destroyed by the fires. Two charters near Odyssey — Pasadena Rosebud Academy and Aveson Charter School — not only burned down, but the principals also lost their homes.

Charter schools have a long road ahead as they wrangle with school districts and patch together money for rebuilding, said Keith Dell’Aquila, an advocate with the California Charter Schools Association who focuses on greater Los Angeles.

“For some schools, it’s total devastation,” Dell’Aquila said. “People who are leaders in their school communities also have no place to go at the end of the day, no place to put their kids to bed. It’s been unimaginable.”

His group is asking Pasadena Unified, which leases space to several damaged charter schools, to help find new space for those schools and to share funds from a recently passed pair of measures that are slated to bring in nearly $1 billion to district schools.

Pasadena Unified did not immediately respond to an email from CalMatters.

A ‘heartbreaking’ reality

Stacy Connor, head of Odyssey’s parent association, said the Eaton fire was the most terrifying experience of her life. She and her family had to evacuate their home in Pasadena at 4 a.m., as 100 mph winds howled and flames roared a block away.

She, her husband and two children spent a few days at a church in Glendale before moving in with family for 10 days. Their house survived — barely. Half the roof burned off, the siding was scorched and nearly all the contents were destroyed by smoke and ash.

Now she’s spending her days haggling with the insurance company and replacing items lost to the fire. She’s also facing the “heartbreaking” reality that she may have to find a new school for her 9-year-old daughter.

“Every single staff member at that school knew every single child. They truly loved children,” said Connor, who spent countless hours volunteering at Odyssey. “It was such an inclusive community where everyone felt welcome. I don’t know if we can replace that.”

Scenes from Odyssey South Charter School show the fire-damaged campus, top left and bottom right. Bonnie Brimecombe, principal at top right, sits in an unusable classroom in one of the only buildings that didn't burn down on campus. Before the fire, one class had a lesson on wildfires, bottom left.

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Jules Hotz

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For CalMatters

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Doubling down on mental health

Founded in 1999, not long after California legalized charter schools, Odyssey serves about 850 students on two campuses. (The other campus was not damaged in the fire.) Odyssey South is ethnically diverse, reflecting the demographics of Altadena — about 30% Latino, 45% white and the rest a mix of Black, Asian and people who identify as more than one race. About one-third are low-income. Students perform well above the state average in math and reading, and there’s typically a waiting list for enrollment.

The school has a strong focus on social-emotional learning, an approach that will help students and staff recover from the trauma of the fires, Brimecombe said. Students are used to talking about their feelings, listening to their classmates and supporting each other.

“In a way, we are ready for this kind of a situation. Resiliency is already built into our core values; we know how to come back,” Brimecombe said. “But it’s going to be tough. We’re going to need to double down to provide all the mental health support our students will need.”

The most immediate need was finding a place for students to go now. A few days after the fire, the local Boys & Girls Club offered to provide all-day care for the students, where they’ve been playing and talking and spending time together in a low-stress atmosphere. More important, parents can return to work and tend to insurance and rebuilding efforts.

Within a week, the school planned a community event for families in nearby San Gabriel

“We wanted to get everybody back to see each other’s faces. Have a minute to cry together,” Brimecombe said. “Some kids may have lost everything, but they could say, ‘My friend is still here, their mom is still here, my teachers are still here.’ It helps to understand [that] it’s not all gone.”

It was such a success that the school is planning a second event, this time with therapy dogs, mental health counselors, meditation sessions and representatives from the Red Cross, insurance companies and FEMA.

Meanwhile, Brimecombe and her colleagues hope to find a temporary campus and reopen within the next few weeks. The sooner students can get into a routine and resume learning, the faster their recovery will be, she said. She and her staff have been working 18-hour days, toiling through exhaustion and stress.

“It’s just been full force forward ever since the fire, but it’s up to us, right?” she said. “We need to do it for the kids, because they can’t do it for themselves. They need to see our faces. They need to know that beyond this awful thing they’re going through, we know them and we’re there for them.”

In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena and Pasadena’s music community have really shown up to support fire survivors, especially fellow musicians who lost instruments and record collections.

That effort continues this weekend with a special donation concert at a Pasadena record store, with the aim of getting vinyl records back in the hands of survivors who lost their collections.

“You know, our name is Healing Force of the Universe, and I think that gives me a pretty clear direction… especially after the fires,” said Austin Manuel, founder of Pasadena record store, where Sunday’s show will be held.

The record donation effort is the brainchild of musician Brandon Jay, who founded the nonprofit Altadena Musicians after losing his home and almost all of his family’s instruments in the Eaton Fire. Through Altadena Musicians’s donation and registry platform, Jay said he and his partners have helped some 1,200 fire survivors get their music instruments back.

Brandon Jay.

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Robert Garrova

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LAist

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Now, that effort has fanned out to restoring vinyl record collections.

“All of that stuff evaporated for thousands of people,” Jay said. “Look at your own record collection and be like, ‘Wow, what if that whole thing disappeared?’”

You might know Jay from several bands over the years, including Lutefisk, a 1990s alt-rock band based in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Gwendolyn Sanford, composed music for TV shows, including Orange is the New Black and Weeds.

Jay plans to play some holiday tunes at Sunday's record donation show (which LAist is the media sponsor), along with fellow musician Daniel Brummel of Sanglorians. Brummel, who was also a founding member of Pasadena’s indie-rock sensation Ozma, said he was grateful to Jay for his fire recovery work and to Manuel for making Healing Force available for shows like this.

Brummel, who came close to losing his own home in the Eaton Fire, recalled a show he played at Healing Force back in March.

Ryen Slegr (left) and Daniel Brummel perform with their band, Ozma, on the 2014 Weezer Cruise.

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Even Keel Imagery

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“The trauma of the fires was still really fresh,” Brummel said. After playing a cover of Rufus Wainwright’s “Going to a Town,” that night — which includes the lyrics “I’m going to a town that has already been burnt down” — Brummel said his neighbors in the audience told him the rendition hit them hard. “It felt really powerful. And without that space, it just wouldn’t have occurred.”

Details

Healing Force of the Universe Record Donation Show
Featuring: Quasar (aka Brandon Jay), Sanglorians (Daniel Brummel) and The Acrylic.
Sunday, Dec. 14; 2 to 5 p.m.
1200 E. Walnut St., Pasadena
Tickets are $15 or you can donate 5 or more records at the door. More info here.

Topline:

The case: In September, the city settled a lawsuit brought forward by two brothers in their 70s who said they suffered serious injuries after an LAPD officer crashed into their car. Days before the $18 million settlement was reached, lawyers for the brothers said Feldstein Soto called an expert witness testifying for the plaintiffs and “attempted to ingratiate herself with him and asked him to make a contribution to her political campaign,” according to a sworn declaration to the court by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Glassman.

The response: Feldstein Soto did not respond to an interview request. Her spokesperson said the settlement “had nothing to do” with the expert witness. Her campaign manager told LAist the city attorney had been making a routine fundraising call and did not know the person had a role in the case, nor that there were pending requests for her office to pay him fees.

What Jurado says: In a statement to LAist, Jurado said she wants to “make sure that the city’s legal leadership is guided by integrity and accountability, especially when their choices affect public trust, civic rights and the city’s limited resources."

What’s next: The motion needs to go through a few committees before reaching the full City Council. If it passes, the motion calls for the city attorney to “report to council in closed session within 45 days regarding the ethics breach violation and give updates to the City Council."

Every year in Santa Ana, Luis Cantabrana turns the front of his home into an elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe that draws hundreds of visitors.

Along the front of the house, the multi-colored altar is filled with lights, flowers and a stained-glass tapestry behind a sculpture of the Lady of Guadalupe. Cantabrana’s roof also is lit up with the green, white and red lights that spell out “Virgen de Guadalupe” and a cross.

Visitors are welcomed with music and the smell of roses as they celebrate the saint, but this year’s gathering comes after a dark year for immigrant communities.

Luis Cantabrana stands in front of the stunning altar he built in front of his home in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe. Every year, his display draws hundreds of visitors.

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Destiny Torres

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LAist

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Why do they celebrate? 

In 1513, the Virgin Mary appeared before St. Juan Diego between Dec. 9 and Dec. 12, asking him to build a church in her honor. Her image — a brown-skinned woman wearing a green veil with her hands together in prayer and an angel at her feet — miraculously appeared on his cloak.

To celebrate in Santa Ana, worshippers gathered late-night Wednesday and in the very early hours Dec. 12 to pray the rosary, sing hymns and celebrate the saint.

Cantabrana has hosted worshippers at his home for 27 years — 17 in Santa Ana.

The altar started out small, he said, and over the years, he added a fabric background, more lights and flowers (lots and lots of flowers).

“It started with me making a promise to la Virgen de Guadalupe that while I had life and a home to build an altar, that I would do it,” Cantabrana said. “Everything you see in photos and videos is pretty, but when you come and see it live, it's more than pretty. It's beautiful.”

The Santa Ana home's elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe draws hundreds of visitors each year.

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Destiny Torres

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LAist

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Gathering in a time of turmoil 

Many also look to the Lady of Guadalupe for protection, especially at a time when federal enforcement has rattled immigrant communities.

“People don’t want to go to work, they don’t want to take their kids to school, but the love we have for our Virgen de Guadalupe,” Cantabrana said. “We see that la Virgen de Guadalupe has a lot of power, and so we know immigration [enforcement] won’t come here.”

Margarita Lopez of Garden Grove has been visiting the altar for three years with her husband. She’s been celebrating the Virgencita since she was a young girl. Honoring the saint is as important now as ever, she said.

“We ask, and she performs miracles,” Lopez said.

Claudia Tapia, a lifelong Santa Ana resident, said the Virgin Mary represents strength.

“Right now, with everything going on, a lot of our families [have] turned and prayed to the Virgen for strength during these times,” Tapia said. “She's a very strong symbol of Mexican culture, of unity, of faith and of resilience.”

See it for yourself

The shrine will stay up into the new year on the corner of Broadway and Camile Street.