The Brief

Mona Patterson walks across the dirt lot that once was her family’s home in west Altadena.

“It's just nice seeing some of the plants that we planted are growing back,” she says, leaning down to touch the leaves of a small lemon tree. “This is our lemon tree that we had —  it was here when we moved here, and it was one of our favorite things.”

The tree — once a source for homemade lemon meringue pies and lemon bars — burned in the Eaton Fire. But to Patterson’s surprise, it’s sprouting again.

“And it's like brand new in a baby size, so that's really cute,” she says. “So hopefully we can keep this when we rebuild.”

Mona Patterson smells the leaves of the lemon tree on her family's Altadena property. It's sprouting again after burning in the Eaton Fire.

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Erin Stone

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LAist

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The 22-year-old grew up here and has deep roots in the community. She, her twin sister and parents lived right around the corner from her grandparents, who bought their home in 1973 when they moved from Louisiana.

“Family living close by was one of the main reasons my parents decided to live here,” Patterson says.

The Eaton Fire took both family homes.

And as the rebuilding begins for her family and others, Patterson is collecting the stories of Altadena’s trees. For the seven months, she’s interviewed neighbors about their relationships with trees that survived — or that died in the fire or the subsequent debris removal.

Patterson recently graduated from Chapman University with a degree in journalism and environmental science. Telling these stories from her community was fitting.

“With these tree stories, I was like, ‘Oh, I bet my neighbors have something similar where they have a tree that was either part of their children's childhood or their reason why they wanted to move here,” she says.

One neighbor described a camphor tree whose boughs supported his children’s treehouse. Another, a fig tree that was the backdrop to a marriage ceremony. An oak tree, likely more than a hundred years old, also survived and now is a reminder of hope for one neighbor. Another group of trees was a morning rest stop for squawking parrots. And countless citrus trees gifted fruit to anyone walking by, reminding them to slow down, maybe talk to a neighbor for a while.

“It was just so beautiful and  I was just like, wow ... everyone has a tree story,” Patterson says.

As for Patterson’s? She describes a mulberry tree that was once in the center of their yard.

The mulberry tree and lush garden of Mona Patterson's home before it burned down in the Eaton Fire.

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Courtesy Mona Patterson

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The tree shaded everyone who entered their home and was a fixture of Patterson’s childhood.

“It wasn't too crazy big, so we put little steps on it, and we eventually put tire swings,” Patterson says. “As we were growing up, we would climb along its branches, swing on the branches.”

Patterson and her twin sister would build little fairy houses, nestling them in the tree's roots.

“And then after the fire, one of the main things when we came here was like, ‘Oh, is our tree gone? How is our tree?” Patterson says. “And it was burned.”

The family asked the Army Corps to leave the stump and a log from the trunk that still has nails sticking out of it. That’s where, before the fire, there were wooden planks that Patterson and her sister used for climbing.

The Pattersons asked the Army Corps to save some of the remains of their mulberry tree so they can turn it into a piece of furniture or art to remember the beloved tree by.

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Erin Stone

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LAist

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The family plans to turn the log into a side table, or maybe an art piece, to honor the mulberry.

“It just really connected us to our home, to our yard and to nature in a different way,” Patterson says.

Although Patterson’s former home is still an empty dirt lot, every day, life seems to be returning.

Blueberry bushes have popped up. California natives that Patterson’s mother planted are growing back, once again enticing the hummingbirds and bees.

“It's definitely healing,” Patterson says, stopping to rub the lemon tree’s leaves and release the citrusy scent. It’s a comfort — and encouragement — she says, “seeing the land go through the same type of loss that you go through and how resilient it is.”

A native mallow blooms on the Patterson's property in west Altadena in early September 2025.

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Erin Stone

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LAist

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Altadena tree stories

Editor's note: These are some of the stories Patterson collected from her neighbors, lightly edited for length and style.

Jeff, Palm Street

Jeff, 47, of Altadena built his childhood dream treehouse in the large camphor tree that once towered over his backyard. He shared his family's story with Mona Patterson and gave permission to LAist to publish it.

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Courtesy Mona Patterson

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When I was a boy, the very first tree I learned to climb was the big camphor tree in my grandma’s front yard. And when I was a grown man shopping for a house to start a family in with my wife, we found a house with a giant camphor tree, just like my grandma’s camphor tree from my youth.

It was one of the driving reasons that pushed us to choose that house to buy and start a family in. During the COVID lockdowns, we couldn’t leave the house much, so I used the time to build a tree house in that tree. Supposedly it was for my kids, but secretly it was the dream tree house that I always had wanted ever since my boyhood.

My heart is broken. It feels like a piece of our world has been amputated. My tree house is ash, and the giant camphor tree I loved so much is dead.

Suzanne, West Altadena Drive

Hercules survived the Eaton fire.

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Courtesy Mona Patterson

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Hercules came from Roger's Gardens down in Newport Beach. He was in a 5-gallon pot, cost $20 and looked prehistoric with a stout, textured trunk and thick, sharp, angled leaves. Hercules did not like being in the 5-gallon pot, and he made his unhappiness very clear by pushing giant roots out through the holes in the bottom of the pot.

Upon further research, I learned that Hercules is a man-made hybrid, aloe barberae crossed with aloe dichotoma. The hybridizers thought this would create a smaller more compact aloe tree, but instead it created a monster that grows faster and larger than any other aloe tree.

I wanted to take it out, but my partner wouldn't have it. He loved Hercules already and was thrilled by the prospects of having a gigantic Frankenstein aloe tree. So Hercules stayed and made his presence known.

Hercules was one of the first things I thought about when I realized our house might be gone. I can't imagine the yard without him.

On the morning of Jan. 8, Hercules was still standing — strong and tall, like a sentinel — with no visible damage. Now about 25 feet high, he provides shelter for house finches and the perfect lookout tower for mockingbirds.

He is resilient and strong, and when I feel like giving up, he reminds me to stand tall and keep moving forward.

Lily, Porter Avenue

The cedar trees were an integral part of the house for my family. The trees were so tall and their long branches so sprawling that looking out the second-story windows, where my bedroom was as a teen, felt like peering out of a tree house.

On windy nights their branches tickled the house, and several times one broke off, falling with a terrifying, thunderous crack.

The cedar trees hugged the house, seemed to wrap their arms around it.

They have no house to hug or protect anymore — instead it feels like they are the house now.

When we have gone to the property, we inevitably find ourselves sitting below their branches, enjoying the small sliver of home they hold. The fact that they still stand feels deeply reassuring to all of us and imagining them still there standing sentinel for many years to come is a comforting image. Our family won't be there anymore, but they will, and they will hold our memories and tie our legacy to that land. 

Lauren, Crest Drive

An oak tree, likely more than 100 years old, that survived the Eaton Fire. A 22-year-old Altadenan named Lauren shared the photo with Patterson for her tree story.

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Courtesy Mona Patterson

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The trees meant a lot to my family. They were home to so many critters, birds, squirrels, even the occasional bobcat. They provided my family shade in the hot L.A. summers.

Growing up, my brother and I spent many days climbing in them and swinging on the swings my dad built us.

In later years, I would set up my hammock using the trees and read books under them.

The trees were part of what made our house a home.

While our home did not survive, our beautiful oak trees did. We estimate the trees are over 100 years old and were there even before our house was built. [Their survival] gives us hope and strength for the unknown future.

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked California from enforcing a new law that would have banned federal immigration agents from wearing masks during immigration sweeps.

U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder ruled that the state could not enforce the facial-covering provision of SB 627, the No Secret Police Act, while a legal challenge brought by the federal government moved forward. That lawsuit argued that SB 627 conflicted with federal authority and would improperly limit how federal agents could do their jobs.

The backstory

The law banning facial coverings took effect Jan. 1 and had already sparked confusion and backlash in Los Angeles after Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said officers would not enforce the ban. McDonnell called the law bad policy and said enforcing it could put officers and the public at risk.

McDonnell’s statements drew sharp criticism from local elected officials, the authors of the laws, and immigration law attorneys and advocates.

The federal government sued California last year, arguing that SB 627 and a second law, SB 805, known as the No Vigilantes Act, unlawfully interfered with federal immigration enforcement. SB 627 sought, in part, to make it illegal for most officers, including federal agents, to conduct law enforcement operations while wearing masks. SB 805, in part, required agents to identify themselves.

About the ruling

Snyder ruled that the mask ban inconsistently applied to some law enforcement officers and not others, which is one of the reasons why the judge temporarily blocked it.

Federal attorneys had argued that agents should be allowed to wear masks for their safety against harassment and assault, such as doxxing. Snyder disagreed, writing that while federal agents and other public figures face security risks, masks were not essential for performing their duties.

“Security concerns exist for federal law enforcement officers with and without masks,” Snyder wrote. “If anything, the Court finds that the presence of masked and unidentifiable individuals, including law enforcement, is more likely to heighten the sense of insecurity for all.”

Reaction to the ruling

One of the law’s authors, Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, announced Monday afternoon that he would be introducing new legislation aimed at revising the original law to apply to state officers it previously exempted. He characterized the ruling as a win and vowed to continue efforts to unmask federal agents.

“Now that the Court has made clear that state officers must be included, I am immediately introducing new legislation to include state officers,” Wiener said in a prepared statement, adding: “We will unmask these thugs and hold them accountable. Full stop.”

What's next

Monday’s ruling still required enforcement of SB 627 and SB 805’s remaining provisions, including that officers identify themselves. It also protected the pathway for civilians to directly sue agents for misconduct.

This temporary order will remain in effect until the federal case is resolved. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment. This story will update if it does.

A new report from L.A. County offers a closer look at the economic damage to the region caused by federal immigration enforcement — and at the neighborhoods most affected.

The analysis, compiled by the Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity and Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, identified the neighborhoods hardest hit by ICE, and found that they were more economically precarious.

Researchers determined that the most targeted ZIP code in the county is 91402, which spans Mission Hills, Panorama City and North Hills in the San Fernando Valley.

The report, which was commissioned by the county Board of Supervisors, also found that many small businesses county-wide have lost revenue and customers since ICE ramped up its presence in Los Angeles last year.

The Department of Homeland Security has detained more than 10,000 people in the L.A.-area since June, according to numbers released in December. Its aggressive deportation campaign has altered daily life in Los Angeles, where nearly one in five people is undocumented or lives with someone who is undocumented.

The report lays out the ripple effect of that campaign on communities, local businesses, and workers, and its uneven influence on the region as a whole.

Vulnerable neighborhoods

The survey created an index of most vulnerable areas.

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Courtesy L.A. County Economic Development Corporation

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The report lays out the economic consequences for communities repeatedly hit by ICE sweeps.

The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, a nonprofit research group, used census data and reports on detentions from the Los Angeles Rapid Response Network to assess how vulnerable each L.A. County ZIP code was to immigration enforcement.

Researchers looked at four other factors for each ZIP code: shares of foreign-born population from Latin America, renter households, Spanish-speaking households and non-citizen workforce.

The 10 most vulnerable ZIP codes, they determined, are primarily in working class, immigrant neighborhoods including Bell, Pico Rivera and Southeast L.A.

Researchers used employment data for the county and found that those ZIP codes were over-represented in industries, including manufacturing and retail, which have a significant number of undocumented workers. Businesses in these neighborhoods also tended to have fewer employees on average compared to the rest of the county, and employees were paid less.

"Taken together, these exhibits show that areas facing heightened immigration enforcement differ from the rest of Los Angeles County and appear more economically vulnerable," the report states.

Declined revenue, less foot traffic

Researchers also distributed a survey to small businesses county-wide to assess how federal immigration enforcement has affected the communities they operate in and their bottom lines since summer.

More than 200 small businesses responded. Most reported having fewer than 10 employees, and the majority were in industries like restaurants, retail, professional or personal services and manufacturing.

The majority of respondents — 82% — reported being negatively affected by federal immigration enforcement. Around half reported lost regular customers, less foot traffic or reduced daily sales. Around a quarter reported temporary closures due to concerns from community members.

Many surveyed business owners reported a climate of fear that has led people to stay home and avoid certain places altogether.

"Businesses reported that customers expressed fear about their location, that customers asked about safety in the neighborhood, and that customers avoided shopping or dining in their neighborhood," the report states.

Undocumented workers generate 17% of county's economic activity

No corner of Los Angeles is exempt to the ongoing immigration sweeps that have become a new reality for the region. Nearly 950,000 undocumented immigrants live in L.A. County, according to recent estimates. That's more than 9% of people in the county who lack legal status.

Undocumented workers also play a huge role in many of L.A.'s key industries. Recent research from the USC Equity Research Institute estimates that 37% of cleaning and maintenance workers and 25% of food preparation and service workers in L.A. County are undocumented.

The industry with the highest percentage of undocumented workers is construction, at 40%.

The county's undocumented population together generates just under $240 billion in economic output, according to the county's report. That's around 17% of the county's total economic activity.

The Los Angeles Unified School District rescheduled a Tuesday meeting where the board was expected to vote on layoffs as part of a larger plan to cut spending.

“The district has adjusted the date of the upcoming board meeting to ensure adequate time for preparation, public engagement, and responsible deliberation on items of significant impact and interest to our workforce and community,” an LAUSD spokesperson wrote in a statement to LAist.

They wrote the proposed reduction in force would be presented at a “future meeting.” Tuesday’s meeting is currently re-scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 17.

In a Friday letter, the unions representing LAUSD teachers, support staff and principals asked the board to delay the RIF vote until there is more information available about state funding and the public has more time to understand the proposed cuts.

“The notion that these are dark times for education requiring harmful cuts when there are record high state revenues is fearmongering,” the union letter reads.

LAUSD's financial challenges

For the last two years, the district has relied on reserves to backfill a multi-billion-dollar deficit. That deficit comes enrollment has declined steeply but expenses have not. There are more than 40% fewer students compared to the early 2000s. At the same time, as costs have increased, the district has not closed schools or significantly reduced staff. LAUSD hired more staff to support students during the pandemic, and now the federal relief dollars that initially funded those positions are gone.

The layoff vote is part of a $1.4 billion “fiscal stabilization plan.” Reductions in force are proposed for several categories including “un-funded” positions, central office staff, and at schools that support higher needs students.

LAUSD must vote on the reduction in force before March 15, the deadline for California school districts to notify staff they may be laid off.

 “It is not a foregone conclusion that people will lose jobs,” said Superintendent Alberto Carvalho at a Jan. 20 board meeting. For example, he said staff may be reassigned to vacant positions or given the opportunity to transfer to another school.

Where are the plan details?

At that same meeting, several board members pressed LAUSD staff for more details.

“When are we going to know the central office reductions? When are we going to know how many of those [there] are?” Karla Griego, a board member who represents District 5, asked, adding: “In a couple of weeks, I hope.”

“No, sooner,” responded Saman Bravo-Karimi, LAUSD's chief financial officer. Bravo-Karimi said the board would be provided with the number of positions impacted and their job classifications.

LAist requested information about the proposed layoffs last week and was told by a district spokesperson that the information would not be available until the board materials were publicly posted.

California’s Brown Act requires public agencies, including school districts, to post information about their regular meetings, including a description of each matter to be discussed, at least 72 hours in advance. Some agencies opt to publish the information even earlier.

No materials related to the Feb. 10 meeting were posted by that 72-hour deadline, and the meeting was rescheduled Sunday.

LAist reached out to Scott Schmerelson, LAUSD board president, who represents District 3, to discuss the delayed meeting. As of Monday evening Schmerelson had not responded.

Weigh in on LAUSD’s planned layoffs

The next meeting where the board could vote on the layoff proposal is Tuesday, Feb. 17. The agenda for the meeting must be publicly posted by Saturday, Feb. 14 at 10 a.m.— 72 hours before the start of the meeting. Sign up to get the agendas emailed here.