The Brief

Something feels different in the air this week here in Southern California.

Perhaps it’s the time change, or that slight shift in the angle of the sun that’s making everything just a little bit brighter. The light breeze that feels more relaxing and tropical than like a frigid windchill.

Could it be … spring?

SoCal's unique wildflower climate

The spring equinox is less than a week away — March 19 — and for Southern Californians, this season means many things. Exchanging our thin puffer jackets for light sweatshirts. More rooftop drinks at sunset. Time to plant seeds for the growing number of gardening enthusiasts among us. For some Angelenos, the seasonal shift is synonymous with Daisy Duke shorts and Coachella (though this year, maybe not).

But here in SoCal, with its unique, Mediterranean climate, spring also means abundant, vibrant wildflower blooms.

“Because of our specific climate, it's really dramatic,” says Evan Meyer, executive director of the Theodore Payne Foundation. “We'll have this super dense blast of color. This specific super bloom phenomenon is restricted pretty much to California and a few other parts of the world.”

California’s mild, wet winters and dry, hot summers — comparable only to southern Europe, southwestern Australia, western South Africa and the west coast of Chile — makes it the most botanically biodiverse region in the country. And with rainfall way above average for the second year in a row here in Southern California, this season’s bloom is expected to be spectacular all around this region.

“When you see how resilient these plants are and how abundant they are and how vibrant they are and how colorful they are, it’s just pure joy,” Meyers says. “It kind of makes you feel like everything's gonna be OK.”

There are a lot of hotspots to take in wildflowers, from Lake Elsinore in Riverside County to the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve. But soon our hills will be alive with colorful blooms pretty much everywhere. In honor of the season, LAist’s How To LA team is bringing you our favorite trails to hike and to see some flowers — and maybe even a waterfall or two.

But here’s our caveat: Use these tips wisely. Because of California’s wonderfully temperate climate, it is also a very populated place, which can put these fragile wildflower habitats at risk. They are annuals, which means they have a one-year life cycle and do not typically reseed. Crush them and they won’t come back.

So, please, be a steward of the land. Stay on the trail, don’t step on the flowers and only take only photos from a healthy distance (that means no wildflower field selfies!).

Wildflower recs

Mishe Mokwa to Sandstone Peak

The trail overlaps part of the The Backbone Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains, stretching across some of the best-protected parts of coastal Mediterranean habitats — including wildflower ones — in the world. Start at the Mishe Mokwa Trailhead.

“It gets a lot of that coastal breeze,” says How to LA producer Evan Jacoby. “It's foggy at night, sunny in the day. So it actually just gets totally flooded [with wildflowers] — not the poppies, but these really bright, purple firecracker looking things that are really awesome.”

Those purple “firecrackers” Evan speaks of are called Arroyo Lupine.

Irvine Ranch Conservancy's virtual Wildflower Week takes place March 22-26.

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Courtesy of the Irvine Ranch Conservancy)

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Zuma Canyon Trail

A short and sweet 2.8 mile trail in Malibu. It's a great place to bring smaller dogs (on a leash!) who might not be up for a longer hike but still want to sniff all the spring smells. See the long, tubular coastal Arroyo Lupine wildflowers. Start at the Zuma Canyon Trailhead.

For the more athletic type: Zuma Canyon Loop Trail, a long, hard 10.4 mile loop.

Pro Tip: Get some hard-earned post-hike grub at Lily’s Malibu, for their infamous breakfast burrito, or some enchiladas (those only served on the weekends).

Claremont Loop Trail

A five-mile walking loop, considered moderately challenging and known for its beautiful urban vista points. Start at Claremont Wilderness Park.

“There's wildflowers that grow on top of the hills, and you can get a beautiful view of the city down below,” says Jens Campbell, production coordinator.

For an easier stroll, starting at the same park: Thompson Creek Trail, a paved, 2.8 mile trail good for walking, biking and jogging.

Wild yellow flowers along the Grotto Trail in Santa Monica Mountains.

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Megan Larson

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LAist

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Grotto Trail

This is a 2.8 mile, out-and-back, trail on the L.A. -Ventura County border where you’ll see an abundance of wildflowers and even waterfalls along the way. Park at Circle X Ranch.

“Once you get to the end of the trail, you can sort of boulder a little bit and get to this actual grotto, this awesome waterfall,” says executive producer Megan Larson.

Pro tip: Use the Seek App to take pictures and learn about the abundance of wildflowers you see along the trail!

“It was a really fun activity to do with my 10-year-old,” Larson says.

A waterfall and wildflowers along the Grotto Trail in the Santa Monica Mountains.

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Megan Larson

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LAist

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Escondido Falls Trail

This is a 3.5 mile trail out and back trail in the Santa Monica Mountains with mild elevation and wildflowers lining the dirt paths. “It’s good for kids and dogs on a leash,” adds Larson. Go early while it's still cool and there is cloud cover.

Wildflower hotline

If you are looking for a more expert opinion, look no farther than Theodore Payne Foundation’s weekly wildflower hotline. It’s been helping people find the best wildflowers in our area for more than 40 years, voice acted by actor Joe Spano.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Friends & Family Flea is returning to Koreatown. Organizers plan to make the flea market a monthly event in the neighborhood and offer reduced registration fees for local vendors.

The market will take place on Nov. 21 and Dec. 12 from noon to 5 p.m. at Un-Other Space at 524 S. Western Ave.

The first market was held in September and drew more people to the space than organizers expected. Friends & Family Flea co-founder Kioh Park said more than 400 people RSVP’d but roughly 650 to 700 people attended.

Some attendees told Park they lived just a few blocks away and had learned about the market through social media or The LA Local’s coverage.

The response convinced the organizers to continue. 

“It was a trial, but definitely we saw the demand from the vendors and attendees,” Park said. “That’s why we want to keep pushing this.”

Organizers plan to invite back vendors from the first market while bringing in new vendors.

They plan to keep the market at Un-Other Space as vendors and attendees responded well to the indoor venue, Park said. 

Attendees play Go-Stop with the LA Hwatu-Hanafuda Club at the first Friends & Family Flea in Koreatown on Sept. 26, 2026.

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Courtesy of Friends & Family Flea

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The organizers are also trying to make the market more accessible to neighborhood businesses. Vendors based in Koreatown can qualify for a reduced registration fee by providing proof of their address, such as a driver’s license or mailing address. Vendors from outside the neighborhood pay a different rate.

“Just so we can have more people who live in that neighborhood and then who do small business there join,” Park said.

The resident-rate program is part of their broader goal of building markets around individual neighborhoods, Park added. 

The flea grew out of Park and Byun’s experience building MAUM Market, a traveling market for Asian and Asian American makers. Park, who grew up in South Korea, first visited Los Angeles in 2016 and later moved to Koreatown, where the two met and developed their business.

“L.A. Koreatown was really, it was really kind of a shock. It feels like a late 1980s, early 1990s, Korea vibe. So it reminds me of my childhood. And there’s a lot of mom and pop shops, so it was really an interesting experience for me,” he said.

Park said he had struggled to apply to established flea markets as a vendor because of language barriers and complicated paperwork.

“Back in the day, I didn’t speak English well, I wasn’t able to understand English well, and the process, paperwork was all very complicated,” he said.

Park said organizers plan to continue their partnership with the Koreatown Youth and Community Center, with proceeds from sales of Friends & Family Flea hats going to the nonprofit.

For more information about becoming a vendor, check out the Friends and Family Flea webpage.

An Orange County judge has approved a $125 million settlement with the company that owns a chemical tank in Garden Grove that failed earlier this year, forcing about 50,000 nearby residents to evacuate for days as the tank threatened to explode.

The agreement between the Orange County District Attorney and GKN Aerospace sets aside up to $100 million for a claim program for residents and businesses who were forced to evacuate.

What’s covered in the claim program?

Those affected can be reimbursed for expenses like hotel stays and loss of wages. That includes:

• Up to $300 a night for lodging, up to five nights
• A $500 payment per household for the loss of using their home
• Up to $500 per day in lost wages for hourly employees who missed work due to the evacuation, up to three working days
• Up to $5,000 per day in lost profits for businesses that had to close during the evacuation

An additional $8.5 million will be used to reimburse government agencies that responded to the emergency.

The company has agreed to a safety plan, which includes new equipment and upgrades to existing equipment, and monitoring and oversight for at least the next seven years.

What’s next?

GKN says it will hold a community event on Oct. 27 so residents can learn about the claim program, though details about the event haven’t yet been released.

The company says now that the agreement has been court-approved, the claim program will open “as soon as possible.” To prepare, GKN said residents should keep receipts related to their expenses during their evacuation.

"Additional guidance on acceptable documentation will be provided when the program opens," according to a company FAQ site.

Police in Santa Ana are investigating the theft of trading cards worth at least $963,000 that were taken from a FedEx truck parked outside of a company that verifies memorabilia.

The truck was broken into on Oct. 13 near Professional Sports Authenticator, also known as PSA, which authenticates trading cards, autographs, comic books, and other memorabilia and grades their condition, Santa Ana Police Department spokesperson Natalie Garcia said in a news release. Pokémon and sports cards were among the items that were stolen, the release said.

The driver had left the truck unattended, Garcia said in a follow-up email Tuesday. How long the driver was gone is part of the investigation, she said.

The truck’s lock was gone and two pallets were taken, she said. A third pallet was disturbed.

“The estimated value of the stolen cards at the time of the incident was $963,000. However, the exact value of the stolen items has not yet been determined,” Garcia said in the news release.

Nick Andrews, a card collector near Boston, told The Associated Press the value of what was taken could be much higher.

PSA’s parent company, Collectors, said it has “deactivated the certificates for the stolen cards and notified marketplace partners so they can be on the lookout for rare and serialized items.”

The company also said it contacted affected customers directly and arranged for compensation based on fair market value.

Both FedEx and Collectors said they are working with law enforcement.

“The security of our customers’ shipments is a top priority,” FedEx spokesperson David Westrick said in a statement.

FedEx referred additional questions to police.

Some people who identified themselves as customers posted online that they got an email from PSA explaining what happened to their cards. They were worried they would never see them again or receive proper compensation.

Andrews, who collects vintage sports and Pokémon cards, told the AP in a phone interview that he was not affected by the theft but has heard from at least two dozen people who were.

“Thousands of cards, most likely, and millions of dollars, most likely,” he said of the losses collectors suffered.

He said one person who submitted cards for grading on behalf of several people told him that they lost half a million dollars in declared value.

PSA’s parent company did not get into specifics on losses in its statement.

“We understand the impact this has on collectors involved, many of whom see these cards as far more than a financial asset,” the statement from Collectors said. “Our team is focused on supporting them. We take this incident seriously, and we will continue working with law enforcement to hold those responsible accountable.”