The Brief

The L.A. County fires have destroyed thousands of homes.

“The first week was really, crisis, like just sheer crisis and panic and a lot of huge uncertainty and fear about our home,” said Adriana Martinez.

She has a home in Altadena with her husband and two children. It was still standing Thursday as the Eaton Fire raged nearby and she entered the house to retrieve passports and other items. Homes a few doors away burned down, she said.

Now in her second week at a West Covina hotel, she’s able to think about the damage smoke and ash have caused inside her home and how her family will clean it. There was a lot of smoke:

“I use a mouth guard. Even the clothes that we were able to grab, toiletries, lotions or whatever, are they actually safe to use? Like toothpaste that I grabbed from the drawers that, you know, things that we put into our mouths or put on our face or our skin,” she said.

Many others are asking similar questions — and there are many ways to do it.

What to understand about fire smoke

Fire smoke is not created equal. Soot from natural fibers such as wood and vegetation cleans out easier than soot from plastics, such as chairs and PVC pipes.

Adriana Martinez's living room during the Eaton Fire.

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Adriana Martinez

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“Most fires are going to be a mix of plastics and natural fibers,” said Tiffany Smith, a franchise consultant for 911 Restoration, a fire and smoke damage clean-up company.

Those manmade materials, she said, tend to produce a greasier and more penetrating soot and odor than the soot produced in a forest fire.

“Most people, in general, feel like they've got a really big odor problem and [yet] they're really underestimating the cleaning challenges that are out there in front of them,” said Robert Bowles, director of service line development for Servpro, another fire damage clean up company.

What to clean, what not to clean

Much of the work to clean up smoke damage inside homes after the L.A. fires will be done by companies that specialize in this. (And insurance can help; more on that below.)

There were some differences of opinion among the companies LAist talked to as to what should be discarded, what should be kept, and what residents can clean themselves. But here's what the experts we talked to said:

• Keepsakes: Take inventory of invaluable items such as childhood teddy bears, Christening outfits, or family Bibles. If you get expert help cleaning, start with these.
• Toiletries, pantry items: Temperature matters because contents may have been affected if flames raised temperatures enough to spoil contents; other than that, Bowles said the outsides of sealed items can be cleaned. Smith recommends throwing everything out.
• Clothes: You can dry clean them, although buying new tees may be cheaper. If you wash them yourself, don't mix them with regular laundry.
• Mattresses: Bowles said mattresses can be cleaned because they are often protected from soot by linings, covers, sheets and blankets. But Smith pointed out that mattresses have dense fabrics — so if your mattress wasn’t well-covered, you might need a new one.
• Couches: The dense fabric makes it difficult to clean but it can be done.
• Pillows: Throw them out; the dense fabric makes it difficult to get smoke soot out.
• Hard, non-porous surfaces: Stone countertops, metal appliances, and sealed wood surfaces can be cleaned as usual.
• Porous surfaces: Walls and ceilings should be cleaned by professionals; here's a good explainer from Keri Blakinger of the Los Angeles Times.
• Cars: 911 Restoration says they might be able to use chlorine dioxide or ozone gas to break down the odors at a molecular level.

A key element of all of this: Time. The experts say that waiting weeks to clean an item allows the soot to set into the fabric, which makes it harder to get out.

Be safe

While Smith and Bowles speak with authority about the process of deciding what to clean, they underline that they are not health experts; decisions about the safety of going into your home and cleaning should be done with protection and with information about what you’re walking into.

“Ash that made it into your home could have asbestos. Heat from the fires could cause acid to leak from batteries,” said Rania Sabty, an occupational health and safety expert, during a webinar organized by an air quality advocacy group.

You may also be able to draw on the expertise of people who have been here before — many people around L.A. have cleaned up homes after a wildfire.

For things you do clean: Again, use protection. The Pasadena Public Health Department recommends a mask like an N95 or P100; gloves; long-sleeved shirts; long pants; shoes and socks; and goggles to avoid skin and eye contact.

What can insurance do?

Insurance that pays for cleaning and replacement of items in a home damaged by fires is called personal property coverage. Here’s a basic description.

“Smoke damage is covered by the standard homeowners policy,” said  David Russell, a professor of insurance and finance at California State University, Northridge.

It’s important, Russell said, for the person filing the claim to begin documenting everything that will need to be cleaned or replaced.

“ It's not up to [the insurance adjuster]. It's up to you to tell them what you've lost and then they validate your claim. Don't expect them to accept everything wholesale,” he said. That’s because adjusters approach claims with some skepticism.

Insurance companies balance their responsibility to put the person who’s insured back to where they were before the loss, with being economical.

“The insurance adjuster has to protect and minimize the payment of claims for the benefit of all policyholders, because losses flow through ultimately to the premiums we all pay at the same time,” Russell said.

He said state and federal regulations keep abuse at bay.

Documenting what’s been lost or damaged, along with finding receipts, is critical for the many people who find themselves now with smoke damage in their homes.

The damage to homes and property from the current L.A. fires ranks, he said, as one of the big three major property loss events in recent U.S. history, behind Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Russell expects that the magnitude of the current losses will lead to lengthy waits for policyholders.

“Impatience and urgency can be the enemy of a thorough and complete accounting of what's been lost,” he said.

His own replacement cost insurance on his $1 million Westwood home, he said, is about $3,000 a year. He has a $1,000 deductible and a California Earthquake Authority policy that costs him about $4,000 yearly.

It’s critical for people to review their own policy. Some people don’t have enough coverage to replace what may be lost.

“I didn't know that much about my policy,” said Diane Read, whose four-bedroom house was partially damaged by the Woolsey Fire in 2018. She recommends listening to recommendations and asking the companies a lot of questions about what the cleaning process will look like. In hindsight, she said, she would have done more about her keepsakes.

“I wouldn't have listened to ‘everything is ruined,’ because it wasn't, and you can take books and let them air out, anything that's really important to you,” she said.

The silver lining to the difficult process of recovery, she said, is that her home was rebuilt. And, she said, it looks gorgeous now.

LAist has a full list of all the events going on today in celebration of MLK Day — check those out here.

I spent Wednesday night screaming my head off with Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters as they spent two-and-a-half hours ripping through their hits at the Forum, with an audience that included friends and family of the band (I even spied legendary tennis star John McEnroe in the crowd). The show included a touching — and subdued — solo tribute to drummer Taylor Hawkins, who died in 2022. They are one of the best bands to see live (the screaming just isn’t as cathartic on Spotify!), and we’re lucky to call them Angelenos.

There’s all kinds of music to lift your spirits and lighten your load this week, too. Licorice Pizza’s upcoming picks include indie-pop band Echosmith at the Mint on Monday, and Replacements legend Tommy Stinson at Alex’s Bar, also on Monday. Tuesday, U.K. singer-songwriter Jacob Banks is at the Troubadour, and on Wednesday there are a ton of options, including Robert Randolph at the Grammy Museum, hip-hop star Duckwrth at the Blue Note, Saving Abel at the Whisky and the Metal Hall of Fame ceremony at the Roxy. Also on Wednesday, Twice begin their residency at the Forum through Sunday. Plus, the Beachlife lineup for May was just announced, with sets from James Taylor and Duran Duran on tap — something to look forward to!

Elsewhere on LAist, you can meet a landlord who uses astrological signs to choose renters, find out what chefs think about the new tortilla mandate and try a Taiwanese bagel in Pasadena.

Events

All The Devils Are Here

Through January 26 
Broad Stage
1310 11th Street, Santa Monica
COST: FROM $45; MORE INFO 

Shakespeare’s villains are as timely as ever, brilliantly laid out and executed by actor and writer Patrick Page in this one-man show at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica. Page has a long history of playing the biggest roles in Shakespeare, from Brutus in Julius Caesar opposite Denzel Washington to Iago in Othello at the Washington Shakespeare Company. In this 90-minute show, Page blends his take on Shakespeare’s personal history with current pop culture references and expert quick-turn soliloquies that embody the Bard’s most vicious characters; I especially enjoyed the after-show talkback, where Page generously answers your most pressing Shakespeare questions.

Tools of the Trades: American Handmade Implements & Devices

Through February 28
Craft in America
8415 W. Third Street, Fairfax 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy Craft in America

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There’s art in the tools that make art. That’s the premise of the current show at Craft in America, Tools of the Trades: American Handmade Implements & Devices. Cleverly laid out on the walls and pedestals of the gallery space, everything from intricately engraved scissors to saws to compasses and carving tools is on display and organized by their utility.

The Puffy Chair

Monday, January 19, 7:30 p.m. 
Vidiots
4884 Eagle Rock Blvd., Eagle Rock 
COST: SOLD OUT, WAITLIST AVAILABLE; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Ink Films

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Original mumblecore brothers Mark and Jay Duplass have gone on to numerous mainstream projects (Mindy Project, Industry and Transparent, just to name a few), but it all started with indie darling The Puffy Chair. The brothers, plus Katie Aselton, will join for a screening of the roadtrip/buddy comedy about an adventure to pick up, you guessed it, a puffy chair, on the film’s 20th anniversary.

Night Scene 

Wednesday, January 21, 8 p.m.
Zebulon 
2478 Fletcher Drive, Frogtown
COST: $38.63; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Dice

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Do you like fun? Night Scene has it all — they call it a “rock & roll sleaze show” but it’s a little bit of everything — DJ night, live performances, cool visuals, featured dancers and more. This week, check out sets from Frankie and The Studs, special guest Domenica Fossati (Brazilian Girls) and creator Ashley Hayward.

Stand Up for Pets

Wednesday, January 21, 7 p.m.
Wallis Annenberg PetSpace 
12005 Bluff Creek Drive, Playa Vista 
COST: $30; MORE INFO 

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Wallis Annenberg PetSpace

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Eventbrite

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Laugh along with your furry friend (and meet some potential new ones!) at Wallis Annenberg PetSpace’s Stand Up For Pets comedy night. Can't Even Comedy presents an evening of stand-up headlined by Tacarra Williams (Bring the Funny, Totally Funny Kids) and hosted by Caitlin Benson.

Angel City FC at LA Works MLK Day Volunteer Festival 

Monday, January 19, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
LA Memorial Coliseum 
3911 S. Figueroa Street, University Park 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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Angel City FC

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Eventbrite

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Use your day off to support youth in L.A. with Angel City FC and L.A. Works. You’ll help put together 1,500 sports kits for youth across Los Angeles, giving them the tools they need for learning and play. The opportunity brings volunteers like you together to honor King’s community vision.

We Buy Souls

Through February 14
Good Mother Gallery
5103 W. Adams Blvd., West Adams
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Rabi

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You’ve seen them all over — those telephone pole signs that look like ads, but really are an art installation and the brainchild of L.A.-based artist RABI (David Emanuel Mordechai Torres). This conceptual installation brings his long-running subservice public intervention into a gallery space for the first time ever. WE BUY SOULS! has attracted attention for its place as “artwork, equal parts installation, performance, marketing experiment and dark satire,” with the posters directing people to a hotline where they are prompted to leave a message dictating the value of their soul and why. Ponder that and other deep thoughts while exploring RABI’s work at the Good Mother Gallery in West Adams.

Speaker Series

Monday, January 19, 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. 
Alana’s Coffee Venice
2524 Pacific Ave., Venice 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

Three inspiring speakers from across the worlds of Hollywood and literature will share stories and insights into their careers — for free! — at the new Alana’s Coffee speaker series. Inspired by Lectures on Tap and other “hang and learn” projects popping up, this first one features Patricia Rust (The King of Skittledeedoo), Kimberly O’Hara (author and storycoach) and Nancy Nyberg (former Fox exec).

Descanso L.A. One-Year Celebration

Thursday, January 22, 5 p.m. to close
Descanso
5773 Wilshire Blvd., Miracle Mile
COST: $55; MORE INFO

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Courtesy JS2 PR

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Celebrate a year of new Mexican spot Descanso on Wilshire with an all-you-can-eat taco night for $55. Plus live painting, a DJ, margarita flights and more. The event benefits Food Access L.A.

After the devastating Eaton and Palisades fires, federal officials and private companies led a patchwork of efforts to remove debris and contaminated material from areas that burned and others covered in toxic ash.

One year later, homeowners have had the inside of their houses tested after completing remediation and many found hazardous levels of chemicals including lead and asbestos. Community groups and scientists who have worked together on testing projects are now pushing for a more stringent certification system to ensure families don’t move into homes with dangerous levels of pollutants.

In Pasadena and Altadena, a group of fire survivors formed Eaton Fire Residents United to help each other navigate the various post-fire challenges, notably: making sure their homes were adequately cleaned of contaminants. After not getting clear answers from their insurance companies, members of the group hired experts who began testing their homes following the disaster. The insides of 50 homes were also tested after being remediated. Out of 45 where interior surfaces were wiped down to test for lead, 43 had at least some level of contamination with the toxic metal, which has no safe level of exposure and can cause learning disabilities, lower IQs and other permanent developmental problems.

Nicole Maccalla is a longtime Altadena resident and data scientist who co-founded Eaton Fire Residents United last January and leads its data work. She said her insurance company has not approved any testing for contaminants.

“You’ve got a whole bunch of variability in testing approaches and practices, and it’s just left residents navigating through just a nightmare,” Maccalla said. “Basically, trying to figure out and educate their [insurance] adjuster at the same time while they’re displaced, and while they’re trying to navigate recovery and jobs and families.”

The California Department of Public Health, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Los Angeles County and City of Pasadena health officials and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said they do not have any standards for testing inside homes after fires in the wildland urban interface, the transition zone between developed areas and unoccupied land. Fires in those areas, including in Altadena and Pacific Palisades, raise increased health concerns because of the toxic materials they burn through.

The Los Angeles County and Pasadena public health departments said they do not currently employ any wildland urban interface fire experts to provide recommendations for further remediation. Agency inspectors examining homes have not been trained in assessing wildfire or smoke damage. Without official guidance, residents are left to let the market present the best way forward.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were tasked with removing hazardous waste from the sites of homes that burned down. That two-phase process was completed about seven months after the fires after the fires killed 31 people and destroyed more than 16,000 structures. For several months, the Federal Emergency Management Agency refused to fund analyses of contaminated soil as part of the debris removal process, although the agency had funded testing in the past. In a remarkable about-face earlier this month, the agency announced it would conduct lead testing at the sites of 100 homes destroyed in the Eaton fire.

Further hampering residents’ efforts to find answers was the Trump administration’s closure of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development, which was responsible for analyzing threats posed by hazards like toxic chemicals, climate change, wildfires and water pollution.

Many residents feared that the ash and soot left behind contained toxic chemicals that would expose their families to ongoing health risks. In the days following the fires, scientists from across Los Angeles and other parts of the country lent their expertise to help monitor contaminants in the communities surrounding the burn areas. The results show dangerous contaminants remain in homes, parks, schools and beaches in or near the Los Angeles County burn areas.

While experts believe that the lead and asbestos being detected most likely came from building materials and lead paint in older homes that burned, there are concerns about wider health effects from the fires. A December study from Cedars-Sinai found a drastic increase in emergency room visits for heart attacks, pulmonary and general illness from January to April 2025. In another scientific study published in August, researchers estimated that 409 people were killed by health problems resulting from exposure to pollution from the smoke.

Seth John, associate professor of earth sciences at the University of Southern California, is one of the researchers who sprang into action after the fires. In what began as a volunteer project, he and other faculty and students (as well as his daughters) drove through the area surrounding the Eaton burn, sweeping up ash and soot for analysis. They kept up the sampling throughout the year, and expanded their efforts under a project called Contaminant Level Evaluation and Analysis for Neighborhoods, or CLEAN, which has invited people across L.A. County to submit soil samples from their homes, parks and schools for lead testing. John and the rest of the team have continued to find elevated levels of lead in areas near the Eaton fire.

“We expect those levels of lead to persist for some time until the remediation is really complete,” John said. “Until all of that material is removed, you’re going to see elevated lead there.”

Eaton Fire Residents United is calling on local, state and federal officials to establish and enforce a “comprehensive clearance” requirement that homes be certified as free of toxic chemicals before people are allowed to move in. U.S. Rep. Judy Chu, whose district includes the Eaton Fire area, told Pasadena Now she found the group’s findings “deeply alarming,” and she has urged Gov. Gavin Newsom, state Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors to support a pre-occupancy clearance standard.

Lead is just one of dozens of toxic materials experts are concerned about residents being exposed to in the wake of the fires. Eaton Fire Residents United conducted a review of indoor contamination in homes post-remediation and found that asbestos was present in nine of 25 houses that were tested for the cancer-causing material.

UCLA, Purdue University and Loyola Marymount University are leading another effort to monitor the soil and air for pollutants from the fires. Initial findings from dozens of samples submitted by residents to that program found that lead concentrations in soil were higher where the Eaton fire burned in Pasadena and Altadena than in areas burned in the Palisades fire. Soil samples were also tested for elements such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead, selenium and zinc. Researchers behind both that project and the USC-led effort plan to continue monitoring the soil and air in the areas surrounding the fires for the next several years.

Residents and researchers have put so much effort into monitoring because they understand that only prolonged observation will allow them to determine whether remediation efforts were successful.

“If we don’t handle these houses, then for the next 20, 30 years, people are exposed,” Maccalla said.

Copyright 2026 Capital & Main

Jackie Parra sits at a card table outside the entrance to the South Los Angeles city animal shelter five days a week, hoping to intercept people who feel they must surrender their beloved pets in order to get housed or keep the housing they have.

“Any person coming to the shelter, this is their last resort,” said Parra, a licensed social worker for the nonprofit Downtown Dog Rescue. “They’ve exhausted all resources, asked family members and friends for help, and they don’t know what to do.”

As Los Angeles struggles to address homelessness, housing access and mental health care, Parra occupies a rare role: helping unhoused people with mental illness keep the pets they rely on for stability and companionship — and, in many cases, secure housing — by navigating the rules around emotional support animals. These animals provide comfort and therapeutic benefits to people diagnosed with mental health conditions, such as anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder and depression. They don’t have the same recognition as trained service animals, but under the Federal Fair Housing Act must be allowed to live with their owners.

Up to 25% of people experiencing homelessness have a pet, according to the Animal Welfare Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based organization focused on improving the treatment of animals. And nearly half of unhoused people with pets report having been turned away from a shelter because of pet policies, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).

Parra’s position grew out of what the team at Downtown Dog Rescue kept seeing in the street and at shelters: People in crisis were giving up animals they loved because housing instability and poverty left them no other choice. And animals were being left to face euthanasia in overcrowded shelters not because they weren’t loved or needed, but because of tragic circumstances. Her job is to interrupt that forced decision — and to help people navigate systems built as if pets don’t matter.

For many, animals are not just companions but the most stable and, possibly, the only relationship a person has, said Lori Kogan, a licensed psychologist in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University who studies human-animal interactions.

“If you have all of these things ripped out from underneath you and you have to relinquish your pet on top of it all, that would be absolutely devastating,” Kogan said.

That reality plays out daily at the shelter as Parra listens to people explain why they may have to give up their dogs, cats, rabbits, birds or other animals they rely on for mental stability. They can’t afford pet food or veterinary care or they are homeless or facing eviction because of their animal.

This is how Orianna Romero remembers her first meeting with Parra. Someone who listened to her heartbreak.

“It has been a miracle to know Jackie,” said Romero, who suffers from depression.

The pair met at the shelter when Romero, 36, thought she would have to surrender her dog, Taro, a Belgian Malinois with a soft brown and black coat. At the time, Romero and her family had become homeless and were living in a motel. When a shelter finally offered the family a room, Taro wasn’t allowed.

In Parra’s arsenal, she has medical vouchers, dog and cat food and, most critically, her training as a licensed social worker to help people crushed by having to choose between housing and their cherished pets.

Her true superpower is her calm, knowing vibe. Parra is from the neighborhood and understands the lives of her clients. She’s experienced depression, and it’s clear she loves animals. She often wears her brown hair pulled back and large sunglasses and switches easily between English and Spanish with clients. She listens deeply, anticipating their questions. Parra is no-nonsense but compassionate. She doesn’t judge, she says. That makes her approachable. So do the dog paws tattooed on her left forearm.

Parra helps eligible pet owners understand their rights when housing is denied or in jeopardy because of an animal. For those who have a mental health diagnosis, she can issue an emotional support animal letter as outlined under federal housing rules to help smooth the way with a landlord, shelter or motel where short-term housing is available.

It’s the kind of support Romero and many others need.

“Their dog is their everything — that’s all they have,” Parra said. “People fail them and dogs don’t.”

While homelessness in Los Angeles has declined slightly in recent years, it remains at crisis levels, with more than 72,000 unhoused people across L.A. County as of the most recent count last year.

And for those struggling with housing insecurity, pets are a priority. For people living in cars, tents or temporary shelters, animals provide routine, protection, emotional stability and unconditional companionship.

Public health researchers and psychologists have documented how companion animals can reduce anxiety, depression and social isolation — benefits that can be especially significant for people with few other supports. Among pet owners, 84% said their pets have a mostly positive impact on their mental health and 62% said their pets help decrease stress and anxiety, according to a February 2024 survey released by the American Psychiatric Association.

Animals help alleviate loneliness, and caring for a pet often gives people structure and meaning, said Kogan of Colorado State University.

“When we spend time with animals we trust and feel comfortable around, this can activate the body’s relaxation system, which slows our heart rate, lowers blood pressure and helps us physically relax,” she said. “At the same time, our brains release oxytocin, called the bonding hormone.”

Jackie Parra talks with her client Robert Valenzuela and his dog, Mamas, at the South Los Angeles animal shelter.

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Zaydee Sanchez

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Under federal Fair Housing Act guidance, emotional support animals are not deemed service animals under the Americans with Disabilities Act. However, in housing, the Department of Housing and Urban Development mandates that landlords must make reasonable accommodations for tenants with disabilities who need an emotional support animal.

Critics sometimes frame such accommodations as special treatment. That framing misses the point. Housing policies already privilege people with money, credit and flexibility. Those with the greatest need are often the least able to navigate the process alone.

Parra’s social worker credentials make her a unicorn in the world of mental health and animal services. Downtown Dog Rescue says it is the only rescue or animal welfare organization in Los Angeles to have a social worker on staff focused on keeping owners and pets together for mental health reasons.

In L.A. County, about one in five pets surrendered in 2024 — roughly 7,290 dogs and cats — were given up because of housing restrictions or costs, according to a report by County Supervisor Hilda Solis.

Parra works out of the South Los Angeles shelter because it takes in the highest number of animals of the city’s six animal shelters. In Los Angeles, when animal shelters are full, the city euthanizes animals to make space, according to LA Animal Services. The city has tried to be a no-kill shelter system, which means achieving a 90% survival rate through adoption or rescue organizations, but has fallen short most years. So far this year, the South L.A. shelter shows one of the lowest survival rates among the city’s shelters, dropping to 73.8% in August, according to city data.

Not all of the animals at the shelter are from unhoused families, but if Parra can help she hopes to keep as many animals with their people as possible.

This approach is common sense and L.A. would benefit from more support for pets and their owners who live outside. Pets are often the last thing left to help those without homes feel safe, supported and connected.

For those on the street, there are some efforts to help, such as the county’s Pathway Home, which offers some assistance to those who are moved from encampments into temporary shelter with pets, although it’s not enough with the number of people living outside here. Other cities, such as Denver, have piloted pet-friendly shelter programs and foster partnerships aimed at unhoused pet owners.

Before the rescue, Parra worked as an outreach worker for a homeless services organization. She became familiar with Downtown Dog Rescue because she encountered lots of animals in the homeless encampments downtown that needed help. She began volunteering on her own time for the rescue, transporting needy animals.

“I wanted to do something for my community and myself,” said Parra, who began volunteering after going through a breakup that brought on a deep depression. Parra’s 15-year-old Chihuahua, Chispita, was a comfort to her throughout her depression, her “ride or die,” she said. The job came later.

The stakes of Parra’s work become clearest in the lives of the people and animals she helps, like Romero and Taro.

Romero said that before she met Parra, she, her husband and their two children, ages 7 and 14, had lived in an RV for a year because they could not afford rent in the city. They had arrived in the U.S. just three years before from Venezuela and living in the RV helped them make ends meet. It was there that Taro the large puppy came to live with the family.

After the vehicle broke down while parked near 55th Street and San Pedro Street, it was cited and towed away with all the family’s belongings inside, Romero said. They did not have the money to pay the fees to retrieve the RV, she said.

When the shelter refused Taro, Romero was distraught. Someone referred her to the city shelter and Downtown Dog Rescue.

“Taro sleeps with me. He accompanies me everywhere,” she said. “I would never let him go. It would be the same as if someone said, ‘Give me your son.’ That is not possible for us.”

Through tears, Romero explained her situation to Parra — her diagnosis, her reliance on Taro and her fear of losing him. Parra wrote a letter qualifying Taro as an emotional support animal that kept the family intact.

“We feel the house is happier with him. For our children, it was super important to keep Taro,” Romero said.

The rescue helps individuals escaping domestic violence, seniors on fixed incomes, families torn apart by deportations and homeless families trying to get into a shelter.

“There are so many people out there that love their animals,” said Lori Weise, founder and executive director of Downtown Dog Rescue. “They go unnoticed and really don’t know that resources are available.”

Weise started the rescue in 1996 to help one unhoused man with his dog. Over the years, the small organization has received funding for a counselor to be at the shelter. Weise said it helped, but she saw the need for someone with more training, a social worker. Several years ago she started asking funders and applying for grants to support her idea. Two special grants gave life to the idea and funded Parra’s position, which began in April of 2024.

But Parra’s position is coming to an end in April when the current grant ends. The first year was funded by a grant from California for All Animals, a $50 million state initiative to support California animal shelters. The ASPCA funded the second year, Weise said.

Weise and Parra hope for additional funding or that the city or county will absorb the position. It’s a worthy aspiration for a program that works to save both people and animals who, as the adage goes, save one another.

State regulators quietly cut funding late last year for a program that supports people with disabilities during disasters in Southern California.

The cuts came about a year after the most devastating fires in L.A. County history leveled thousands of homes and killed at least 31 people, most of whom were older and had access and functional needs.

Independent living centers are sounding the alarm, with experts saying such programs should be expanded, not cut, and that the loss of the program leaves people with disabilities even more vulnerable to increasingly severe disasters fueled by climate change.

The background

The Disability Disaster Access and Resources program, or DDAR, provided backup power batteries as well as personal emergency planning for people who rely on electric medical equipment, refrigerated medications, or otherwise are particularly vulnerable during power outages and disasters.

It was established after the 2018 Camp Fire, which razed the Northern California town of Paradise and killed at least 85 people. It was primarily geared towards providing support to people with disabilities in the event of public safety power shutoffs, which are when electric utilities proactively shut off power during high winds and risky fire conditions.

In 2023, the program launched in Southern California Edison territory. It was funded by a small charge on Edison ratepayers’ bills.

Edison provided portable backup power batteries for free, while the state’s network of participating independent living centers helped install the batteries. They also provided education and direct outreach to clients, as well as connected them to free temporary housing in the case of extended power shutoffs.

Since 2023, the program has supported Southern Californians during nearly 600 public safety power shutoff events, providing more than 1,000 hotel stays and delivering hundreds of backup batteries, according to the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers.

Disabled community sounds alarm

The state’s public utilities commission cut the program in Southern California Edison territory during the utility’s latest general rate case. Before it was cut, DDAR was allocated nearly $2 million in funding per year through 2027, but state regulators said ratepayers shouldn’t be on the hook for a program that they argued duplicated similar programs, such as the company’s existing portable backup power program and its partnership with 211 LA, which screens and refers callers to needed resources.

But 211’s own director, Maribel Marin, disagrees.

“It’s a program that needs to be expanded, not reduced,” Marin said. “We feel it was complementary.”

Marin said 211 does screen callers for backup power needs — they enrolled more than 2,000 callers in DDAR last year — but doesn’t have the staff to conduct in-person education and individualized emergency planning. Before the cut, she had been pushing for the program to expand eligibility beyond high fire risk zones.

“ We mobilize for the disaster, but we're not investing in capacity building,” Marin said.

She pointed out that 211 on its own has not seen an increase in funding since the early 2000s. DDAR had helped fill some of the gaps, she said.

Meanwhile, Marin added, the population with access and functional needs is only growing: by 2030, about 30% of the population of L.A. County is expected to be over the age of 60.

“ What was lost over that time was all our disaster preparedness capacity,” Marin said. “Now, we’re having people do double duty.”

Personal planning builds resilience

The Service Center for Independent Life in Claremont serves communities across the Inland Empire, southeast L.A. County and San Gabriel Valley. They delivered more than 240 backup batteries through DDAR.

“When we drop off a battery, we don't drop off a battery,” said executive director Larry Grable. “We go into the house, we help set it up, we teach the people how to use it, how to make sure it's charged, how to recharge. And then we spend time to set up an emergency plan.”

That type of one-on-one connection and education year round — especially with people with lived experience with disabilities thanks to the partnership with the state’s independent living centers — is what made DDAR unique, he said. While the center still has some batteries left, they don’t know what they’ll do once they run out. Since the program was cut, Grable has had to lay off staff and work overtime to fill the gap. He's seeking grant funding as well.

Keith Miller, executive director of L.A.-based Communities Actively Living Independent & Free, said the center previously had two DDAR staff members — now they’re down to one.

“It's a huge impact in regards to what we want to do,” he said.

That includes things like building free “go bags” for clients, making accessible flyers and educational materials about preparing for emergencies, and doing direct outreach with clients.

Dozens of disability organizations across the state called the elimination of the program “contradictory and dangerous” in a letter to the public utilities commission in November. The letter calls for funding to be restored through at least 2027.

“We fear greatly when the next public safety power shut off, the next earthquake, the next fire happens in Southern California because we don't have the staffing to support it,” said Lisa Hayes, director of the California Foundations for Independent Living, who wrote the letter. “What it's going to take is for people with disabilities to die in order for somebody to listen.”

The program may be reconsidered during Edison’s next general rate case, but that’s not likely to be revisited until 2029.

“We recognize that DDAR’s deep expertise and personal engagement were valuable, and we are actively working to preserve critical knowledge and strengthen partnerships with community-based organizations to address any gaps,” said Edison spokesperson Gabriela Ornelas.