Amari Jackson and Terri Lyday of Altadena. Jackson is a lifelong resident and his family owns multiple properties in the area.
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Brian Feinzimer
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Topline:
Altadena is one of those rare places in Los Angeles County where people of many backgrounds and ethnicities have been able to afford the American Dream of community and homeownership. After the Eaton fire, residents fear it will never be the same.
Why it matters: Altadena has a rich history of Black Americans and other underrepresented communities achieving a middle-class lifestyle despite systemic racism. In recent decades the community has faced rising prices driving people out, and some worry the fire will accelerate that trend.
Keep reading...to hear from longtime community members impacted by the Eaton Fire.
Altadena is one of those rare places in Los Angeles County where people of many backgrounds and ethnicities have been able to afford the American Dream of homeownership.
Situated near the base of the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of downtown L.A., Altadena was known for its mixture of single-family homes, restaurants and businesses.
It’s been a sanctuary for Black residents in particular: according to census data, about 75% of African Americans living there own their homes — close to double the national rate.
So when the Eaton Fire ignited last week and tore through Altadena and parts of neighboring Pasadena, the loss was felt deeply in the community and beyond — both by those who are familiar with its history and by those just learning of it.
Major societal change came during the Civil Rights Era. Racist property-use laws became unenforceable and later legal actions banned housing discrimination outright, helping end de facto practices that locked Black families out.
This contributed to a "white flight" from the area as one of L.A. County’s first middle-class communities to include Black people emerged: The Meadows neighborhood. The area is on the western edge of Altadena and was originally co-owned by abolitionist Owen Brown.
Many Black residents in Altadena were displaced when the 210 Freeway was built in the ‘60s, but local organizations continued to encourage people of color to move in. Between 1950 and 1960, the Black population rose from less than 1% to 4%.
Octavia Butler, a celebrated science fiction writer, and Sidney Poitier, the first Black actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, were once residents.
The community today is 58% people of color, more than 18% of whom are Black, according to Census data.
A firefighter extinguishes the remains of a hardware store destroyed in the Eaton fire in Altadena, California, on January 8, 2025.
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Robyn Beck
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AFP via Getty Images
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Major losses in a historic Black neighborhood
The Eaton Fire, named for the canyon where it first sparked, started the evening of Jan. 7 and by Jan. 13 had burned more than 14,000 acres in Altadena and parts of northeast Pasadena, reduced hundreds of homes to ash, and killed at least 16 people.
It is one of the deadliest fires in California history. The cause of the blaze is still unknown.
Of the confirmed and identified victims of the fire so far, many are older, Black homeowners who were rocks of their communities — people who held the community’s history in their lived experience and offered support and advice to younger generations.
The loss is immeasurable.
A screenshot of an old photo of Large's grandmother Maxine Morgan outside their family home in Altadena.
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Courtesy Porsha Large
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By Friday, the flames had mostly died down in Altadena and the winds had calmed. Firefighters went block by block, mopping up smoldering hot spots in the rubble of homes reduced to charred foundations.
Porsha Large spoke to LAist last week while standing at the corner Woodbury Road and Navarro Avenue, waiting to get to her grandmother’s home nearby. She knew that the house, which she said her grandmother bought in the 1960s for under $10,000, was a total loss.
The seven family members who lived there made it out safely.
Her grandmother, Maxine Morgan, was part of a wave of Black families who moved to Altadena during the Great Migration that started in the 1910s as they fled racial discrimination in the southern U.S. She died six years ago.
“She was a single mother from Oklahoma, four kids. And, she was the first Black grocery clerk in Sierra Madre,” Large said, tears in her eyes.
Over decades, the house, which once had paper walls, Large said, became a focal point for her family and the area.
“I'd say about five generations were raised in that house,” she said, her voice breaking. “It's always been a home — I mean, to the community, like, not just our family. My grandma opened her doors to anyone that ever needed anywhere to stay….
“The community knows my grandma's house.”
And now it’s gone.
The former home of Maxine Morgan and Porsha Large's family before it burned in the Eaton fire.
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Courtesy Porsha Large
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LAist
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Porsha's brother, Justin Cook, stands on the rubble of their grandmother's house in Altadena.
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Courtesy Porsha Large
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The family members found shelter in an Ontario hotel room at first, then later in a two-bedroom apartment they own in Pasadena, Large said. But that’s a temporary solution, and one that keeps them removed from the community they loved and that may never again be the same.
“That's what Altadena was, a bunch of grandmothers and grandfathers that raised us all,” said Whitney Large, Porsha Large's sister. “We didn't go to parks and play. If you were raised right here, you came to my grandma's yard, six kids at a time.
“We played football and basketball and we raced up and down the streets."
That's what Altadena was, a bunch of grandmothers and grandfathers that raised us all.
— Whitney Large of Altadena
'Angry' winds
A few blocks away, Tamara Carroll and her nephew, Akeem Mair, stood outside Carroll's one-story house. It survived the blaze. Many other houses on the same street did not.
“My neighbors three doors down... there's like six houses that were burned to the ground,” Carroll said, shaking her head.
Carroll said her parents bought the home in 1966. When the fire approached the house early Wednesday, she didn’t evacuate.
Akeem Mair, left, and his aunt Tamara Carroll outside Carroll's home. Both of their family homes survived, but they worry how Altadena will change in the rebuild.
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She said she just didn’t expect it to get so bad.
“Growing up here with the Santa Ana winds, we used to come out in the street and play,” Carroll recalled. “Me and my brothers, it’d be pitch black and we would try to see who could stand the longest without moving in the winds. But these winds were different. They were more angry.”
The winds that drove these fires deep into the flatlands were the strongest Santa Ana winds since at least 2011. Combined with an abnormally dry start to the winter, it was a recipe for disaster.
“We've never had any type of fire like this — they've always been in the mountains,” Carroll said. “We've seen fires, but nothing like this.”
William Jackson of Altadena stands at the driveway of the home where he found his neighbor Tuesday deceased in the rubble of his home on Monterosa Drive at on January 9, 2025 in Altadena, California. "I keep calling his name, Victor, Victor. He died with the water hose still in his hands." Jackson said.
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Gina Ferazzi
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Carlos Martinez, who lives a street over from Carroll, said despite the orders to evacuate he stayed as flames burned around his home. Ultimately, his home survived.
“I got 30 years living here, I worked for this house,” Martinez said as he stood outside his home last week. “I wasn’t going to let it burn to the ground.”
His wife, Ana Martinez, said the house is much more than just property.
“This is where my two kids were born and my third was almost 5 when we moved here,” she said. “This is our home. So it means everything. Everything.”
Juan Carlos Martinez and his son Manolo try to put out a fire that burned down their neighbor's home in Altadena. They decided to stay overnight to protect their home, which is safe for now.
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A promise to retain Altadena’s roots and character
At a community meeting about the Eaton Fire on Sunday afternoon, residents said they worried their community will change into something they don’t recognize when and if residents can rebuild.
In recent decades, rising prices have already changed the demographics of many of these neighborhoods.
Carroll’s nephew, Akeem Mair, who lives in the Meadows neighborhood with his 94-year-old grandmother, said he worries the fire will only accelerate that, deepening inequality.
We already had people start moving out of here because of the prices, but now the fire....
— Akeem Mair of Altadena
“ We already had people start moving out of here because of the prices,” Mair said. “But now the fire…so it's just…I don't know. I don't know.”
L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose district includes Altadena, promised the community she wouldn’t let that happen, saying, among other things, that she would promote policy to prevent developers from replacing single-family homes with luxury condos.
“This is not a transient community, so I’m going to be looking at what we can do to protect those that are going to be priced out,” Barger said. "I’m going to speak with the governor to…suspend legislation that’s made it easy for developers to build dense condominiums…so that we can maintain Altadena the way it belongs.”
Altadena residents pour water onto neighboring properties.
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At least 100 people were at the meeting at Pasadena City College.
“We’re not gonna let what happened in Lahaina happen in Altadena,” Barger promised, referring to the situation after the 2023 fires in Hawaii, which became the deadliest in modern U.S. history.
Displaced people from that largely working and middle-class enclave have been fighting what’s been called “climate gentrification” since then.
Even for those who didn’t lose their homes, there’s a lot of uncertainty about whether they’ll stay.
"My intention was to continue leaving this home to the next generation,” Carroll said. “But I honestly have to say, this has changed my thought process. Although the house didn't burn down, it's going to be a lot to repair it. It's gonna be very, very difficult for people to become whole again.”
Do you have a question about the wildfires or fire recovery?
Check out LAist.com/FireFAQs to see if your question has already been answered. If not, submit your questions here, and we’ll do our best to get you an answer.
Mariana Dale
has been reporting on changes in LAUSD’s leadership since the FBI searched Alberto Carvalho's home in February.
Published June 24, 2026 4:01 PM
Andres Chait, acting superintendent, at a March 2026 LAUSD board meeting.
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Jason Armond
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Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
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Topline
The Los Angeles Unified Board voted unanimously to appoint Andres Chait, a longtime district administrator, as superintendent days after his predecessor resigned. “This board's decision reflects the confidence in Mr. Chait's leadership, his decades of service to Los Angeles Unified, and his demonstrated ability to guide the district during this period of transition,” said Board President Scott Schmerelson.
Why now: The board met privately to discuss the district’s top job three days after Alberto Carvalho resigned. Carvalho wrote in a letter that he was leaving “because I believe our schools must remain focused on students and learning without distraction.” The board placed Carvalho on paid administrative leave following FBI searches of his home and district office in February and appointed Chait acting superintendent. Carvalho has not been charged with a crime and has maintained his innocence.
Who is Andres Chait? Chait rose through the ranks from teacher to administrator at LAUSD over nearly three decades. The responsibilities of his most recent role, chief of school operations, included overseeing school safety, athletics and the district’s office of emergency management.
Why it matters: LAUSD is the country’s second largest school district, employs 83,000 people and enrolls more than 400,000 students across more than 1,000 schools. Despite recent gains in student test scores, the majority of students are not proficient in reading and math skills for their grade level. The district also faces looming financial challenges from declining enrollment— which is tied to state funding— and federal investigations into programs designed to help underserved students succeed.
The Los Angeles Unified Board voted unanimously to appoint Andres Chait, a longtime district administrator, as superintendent days after his predecessor resigned.
“This board's decision reflects the confidence in Mr. Chait's leadership, his decades of service to Los Angeles Unified, and his demonstrated ability to guide the district during this period of transition,” said Board President Scott Schmerelson.
The board met privately to discuss the district’s top job three days after Alberto Carvalho resigned. Carvalho wrote in a letter that he was leaving “because I believe our schools must remain focused on students and learning without distraction.”
The board placed Carvalho on paid administrative leave following FBI searches of his home and district office in February and appointed Chait acting superintendent. Carvalho has not been charged with a crime and has maintained his innocence.
Who is Andres Chait?
Chait rose through the ranks from teacher to administrator at LAUSD over nearly three decades. The responsibilities of his most recent role, chief of school operations, included overseeing school safety, athletics and the district’s office of emergency management.
Chait thanked the board, the community and his family after the announcement Wednesday and reflected on his first day as a kindergarten teacher 30 years ago. “ I was probably more nervous than the kids were, but I knew then that this was a place where I could make a positive difference in the lives of students and families,” Chait said. “I've always known that there is no greater accelerator of change and opportunity than the schoolhouse, and that is still true today.”
What is the superintendent responsible for?
LAUSD is the country’s second largest school district, employs 83,000 people and enrolls more than 400,000 students across more than 1,000 schools. Despite recent gains in student test scores, the majority of students are not proficient in reading and math skills for their grade level. The district also faces looming financial challenges from declining enrollment— which is tied to state funding— and federal investigations into programs designed to help underserved students succeed.
A former Orange County state parks superintendent has been charged with secretly filming naked male lifeguards in the locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach.
What allegedly happened? Kevin Pearsall retired last year shortly after officials executed search warrants in the case against him. He was charged Wednesday with taking secret footage and is also accused of sending the images to two other men. Efforts to reach Pearsall were unsuccessful Wednesday.
Read on ... for more about the allegations and the pending case.
A former state parks superintendent who oversaw Orange County beaches was charged Wednesday with secretly filming naked male lifeguards and other workers inside the locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach. The former superintendent, Kevin Pearsall, is also accused of sending some of the images to two other men.
What charges does he face?
Pearsall, 59, of Long Beach, faces five felony counts of eavesdropping, 23 misdemeanor counts of secretly filming another and three misdemeanor counts of unlawful dissemination of private recordings. If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 18 years and eight months behind bars.
Scott C. Thomas, a defense attorney representing Pearsall, declined to comment in the wake of the charges being announced by the Orange County District Attorney's office. Pearsall is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 6 and could enter a plea at that time.
Details of the investigation
In July 2025, a California State Parks officer discovered a USB stick with a hidden camera in the men's locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach Lifeguard Headquarters. The officer contacted California Highway Patrol, which launched an investigation.
The investigation found Pearsall allegedly had recorded numerous secret videos in the locker room over an 11-month period beginning in August 2024, according to the DA's announcement. Pearsall retired from his job shortly after CHP served search warrants in the case. He turned himself in earlier this week.
State Parks reaction
Marty Greenstein, a spokesperson for California State Parks, told LAist the agency “takes these charges very seriously and has fully cooperated with law enforcement through every step of the investigation.” Greenstein declined to comment further, citing the active criminal investigation.
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Gab Chabrán
covers what's happening in food and culture for LAist.
Published June 24, 2026 3:39 PM
The konbini-style snack shop at Tiny's, stocked with imported chips, Japanese Kit-Kats and a refrigerated wall of drinks.
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Gab Chabrán
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LAist
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Topline:
Sang Yoon — the chef behind Father's Office, the Los Angeles gastropub institution known for its high-quality food and an uncompromising no-substitutions policy — has opened Tiny's, a new fast-casual burger stand and konbini-style snack shop inside Costa Mesa's South Coast Plaza.
Why it matters: For Yoon, the son of Korean immigrants who grew up between two worlds, Tiny's is the restaurant he always imagined but never had: an American burger stand meets an Asian convenience store, all under one roof.
Why now: Tiny's opened last week at South Coast Plaza, marking Yoon's first new concept in years and his first venture into Orange County — a deliberately accessible entry point for a chef who has spent decades at the top of L.A.'s gastropub scene.
Read on ... for more on what makes the new venture special.
Making your way through South Coast Plaza — the sleek consumer cathedral in Costa Mesa, a sort of mall of malls — past Uniqlo window displays and Pop Mart blind boxes, there's a good chance you'll eventually land at Tiny's, the new casual restaurant from Chef Sang Yoon.
The burger shack-meets-Asian convenience store is the latest from Yoon, best known for Father's Office, the Los Angeles institution where he's spent two decades running one of the city's most uncompromising kitchens — no substitutions, no exceptions.
Tiny’s marks Yoon’s first venture into Orange County — a deliberately accessible entry point for a chef who has spent decades at the top of L.A.'s gastropub scene.
The concept
Tiny's is the place Yoon wanted to exist as a kid.
Inside, you're greeted by shelves stocked in the style of a konbini, the beloved Japanese convenience corner store, with cilantro-flavored Doritos from China, elote-flavored Turtle Chips from Korea and, for the purists, the requisite Japanese Kit-Kats and Pocky too.
At the counter, a friendly employee greets you beneath a letterboard menu anchored by Yoon’s signature 30-day dry-aged beef burger. Starting at $9 for a plain burger, up to $12 for the Tokyo Dog dressed in bonito flakes and furikake, there's also salt and vinegar tots, french fries, miso mac 'n' cheese and soft serve that runs from Straus vanilla to Pineapple Dole Whip, available as a swirl, cup, cone or float. That's the menu, streamlined by design.
Chef Sang Yoon's cheeseburger and Tokyo Dog at Tiny's, his new fast-casual concept inside South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa
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Grid Vongpiansuksa
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Courtesy Tiny's Burger
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For Yoon, the son of Korean immigrants who grew up between two worlds, the idea of opening a burger stand with a konbini was about tapping into the happy place of his memories: after school with friends, trying out the latest snacks to hit the market to Friday nights with the entire family celebrating after a long week of grinding it out with burgers and chili fries.
"The corner burger stand is where life happened. ... What if those two of my favorite things were under one roof?" said Yoon.
Tiny the dog
Inspiration for the name Tiny’s came from a somewhat unlikely place: Yoon’s beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Yoon describes her as appearing extremely cute and friendly, but in reality, she was actually sassy and judgmental. Illustrations bearing Tiny’s "don't mess with me" vibe can be seen throughout the restaurant.
“People would rather hear this from a sassy, cute dog than me. So I decided that we should channel Tiny. And let this belong to her," Yoon said.
The food
The cheeseburger itself is simple: a thin patty topped with melted American cheese and Tiny's signature sauce — a blend of Kewpie mayo, caramelized gochujang, ssamjang and tomato — finished with pickle chips and a bed of lettuce.
What sets it apart is what you can’t see, the same 30-day dry-aged chuck Yoon has used at Father’s Office for over 25 years.
“I still don’t think there’s any product superior to that for the purpose of a hamburger,” he said.
The spread at Tiny's includes the cheeseburger, miso mac 'n' cheese, chicken nuggets, tater tots, fries and a jammy egg sando — a konbini staple in Japan.
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Grid Vongpiansuksa
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Courtesy Tiny's Burger
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The nuggets ($10) had a crispy, craggy exterior finished with visible seasoning crystals, a small but deliberate touch, and came with a fresh herbaceous dipping sauce. As for the chili fries ($8), the chili itself was sufficient as an L.A.-style chili (think Tommy's), but since Lao Gan Ma chili crisp was promised in the name, I was expecting that distinctive, crunchy, fermented kick — but left wanting more of it. It felt more like a whisper than a statement.
The miso mac 'n' cheese ($6) was a highlight of the meal, especially for someone who doesn't usually order mac 'n' cheese. Fresh ridged elbow pasta with a proper chew in each bite, and salty morsels of miso folded into a tight cheese sauce had me picking up forkfuls until it was mostly gone. Consider my position reconsidered.
Encouraged, I went back and ordered a Dole Whip ($7). The electric, tangy flavor, paired with the soft creaminess, served as a suitable exclamation point for my lunch that day.
With Tiny's, Yoon has built his most personal restaurant — accessible in price, but uncompromising in intention.
Could mall food now be on a new trajectory? Perhaps we've finally transcended corn dogs at Hot Dog on a Stick and cinnamon rolls at Cinnabon.
Anjanette Gile
is a news intern and senior at Cal State L.A. She attended the Downey City Council meeting for this story and interviewed city officials.
Published June 24, 2026 2:56 PM
People light fireworks in Los Angeles on July 4, 2025. Most fireworks are illegal in the state of California.
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Etienne Laurent
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Getty Images
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Topline:
The Downey City Council voted 5-0 to allow local police to use drones to patrol neighborhoods for illegal firework activity over the upcoming Fourth of July holiday.
The details: The vote, which also greenlit new fines for party hosts and spectators watching illegal fireworks, took place at Downey City Hall on Tuesday night. The ordinances were introduced by Scott Loughner, Downey’s chief of police, and James Eckhart, the city’s primary prosecutor.
The background: Downey has had significant issues with firework activity in the past and upped fines as a part of zero-tolerance approach toward unlawful firework discharges in 2024.
What the council authorized: Hosts and spectators of unlawful firework activity will be fined the same as individuals who possess or discharge dangerous fireworks starting at $4,000. Drones will be used by police to more accurately document instances of illegal activity and allow them to send citations directly to residences, according to a presentation by police.
Read on ... for more on how Downey is upping firework enforcement this Fourth of July.
The Downey City Council voted 5-0 to allow local police to use drones to patrol neighborhoods for illegal firework activity over the upcoming Fourth of July holiday.
The vote, which also greenlit new fines for party hosts and spectators watching illegal fireworks, took place at Downey City Hall on Tuesday night.
The move is part of a citywide crackdown on fireworks in Downey — the city currently only allows the use of “safe and sane” fireworks, which include sparklers and smoke bombs. As in many cities in Southern California, any firework that is projectile and explodes in the air is banned in Downey.
The details
The new ordinance will treat property owners, tenants, party hosts and spectators of unlawful firework activity the same as people in possession of or discharging illegal fireworks within city limits.
Dorothy Pemberton, a Downey City Council member, spoke with LAist after the meeting and explained her support of the ordinance.
“It's a message to send to people to try and be respectful of the neighborhood and just abide by the rules,” Pemberton said.
She explained that often people don’t want to take accountability for illegal firework activity, despite encouraging it through hosting events where fireworks are shot off or watching them on their street.
“They don't want to abide by the rules,” she said.
In addition to the fines, the new ordinance also allows the city to recoup the costs of emergency services used in response to unlawful firework activity, including payment for first responders, city equipment and any needed medical treatment.
How the new drone enforcement and citations will work
The drones are authorized to be used for the first time next month on July 4 and can be used going forward for high-profile events like New Year’s Eve and Dodgers wins.
The drones used by the police will be able to detect location and thermal signatures in order to identify suspects and allow law enforcement to send a citation to the property the firework was discharged from.
Scott Loughner, Downey’s chief of police, gave more details to LAist on what drone enforcement will look like this year.
“It's the first time we've done it, so it's kind of figuring out exactly what to do, but we have several different licensed drone pilots,” Loughner said. “There'll be two two-man teams, and they'll be overhead.”
Loughner added that the drones will not “be going into people's backyards, looking through windows, things like that. It’s more of you see it in the distance, you zoom in and try to target people that are causing disturbances.”
Loughner said the department may use the drone footage to coordinate with officers on the ground who are alerted to the illegal activity and then drive to residences to put a stop to it.
Downey staff cited six other California cities — Artesia, Brea, Stanton, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Sacramento — as setting precedents for using drones for firework enforcement.
Anaheim also recently started using drones to spot illegal fireworks.
There has been mixed public reaction on social media regarding drone usage in Downey. Some people have said they’re glad that action is being taken, given the adverse effect of fireworks on members of the community and their pets. Others have emphasized their concerns about excessive surveillance and the need to prioritize issues such speeding and car accidents that have long plagued the city.
Current firework rules in Downey
Currently, “safe and sane” fireworks can be legally discharged between 3 and 10 p.m. on July 4 in Downey.
Fines in the city start at $4,000 for the first offense of possession or discharge of a dangerous firework, $5,000 for second offense, $6,000 for third offense and go up from there during a three-year period.
This is the second time the Downey City Council has made changes to its fireworks rules in recent years. In 2024, the council voted to increase the fine for a first offense from $1,000 to $4,000.
