Los Angeles Area Wildfires Update:
Fire fund grants, rebuilding, and long term projections
As Angelenos we’re no strangers to California wildfires, but the 2025 January wave of fires was the most catastrophic ever. Whenever disaster strikes our area the Los Angeles Urban League mobilizes into action to heal our communities.
For more than a century, this organization has been at the forefront of disaster recovery, leading efforts during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, 1994 Northridge Earthquake, the 1992 Los Angeles Uprising, the 1965 Watts Riots and now the 2025 Wildfires–which brought a direct visit from our national leader.
National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial met with business and disaster relief officials on February 20-21. Morial and Los Angeles Urban League President and CEO Cynthia Mitchell-Heard along with a delegation of banking and community leaders surveyed the burned areas in Altadena and Pasadena. The damage assessment assisted us in formulating our first year’s response and how we will deploy long-term resources and recovery assistance for survivors. Long-term could mean a period of seven to ten years according to a UCLA urban renewal specialist, who forecasts planning and rebuild efforts following national disasters.
Through every tragedy, our mission has remained steadfast: To rebuild resilient communities restoring dignity–such that no neighborhood, the underserved nor any communities of color are left behind.Â
We are here for you Los Angeles to ensure the equitable delivery of relief and recovery assistance and the restoration of economic empowerment. Together we will rebuild.
Our focus has transitioned from one of ‘rapid response’ to now Recovery and Rebuild, which is what we’ve titled the thrust of our programs dedicated to this long-term effort. Reconstruction has started on many of the Altadena and Pasadena lots where homes and business were destroyed by the Eaton Fire. Round one of our funding has been completed and we are currently in the committee approval phase of grant disbursements from our Southern California Equity Relief Fund. Upon raising a significant amount of funding for round two, we will begin grant disbursements again for those who were not selected before.
It will take some time before a true neighborly sense of “community” returns to these areas, but we assure you all, everyone in the ‘Dena, the Los Angeles Urban League will be with you for the long haul.
Eaton Fire Survivors on the Comeback Trail
.The Eaton Fire that broke out January 7th has become one of the costliest and deadliest blazes in California wildfire history. The fire burned more than 14,000 acres, destroyed or damaged 10,500 structures and claimed 17 lives. Some of the vintage homes flattened by this fire had been standing nearly 100 years in Altadena and Pasadena. We centered some of our relief efforts at New Revelation Church. Our organization helped set up a relief center there, which is still operational for anyone wanting to donate supplies for survivors. We also lent our assistance at other help centers located at Pasadena City College, Altadena Disaster Recovery Center and numerous other locations. News cameras have moved on, but we will always be there for our people. Those living in the ‘Dena can count on that. We’re still accepting donations to our fundraising campaign for survivors, the SOCAL EQUITY FUND, just below.
A global outpouring of support has made it possible for us to begin disbursements of round one of our donation funding. A second raise is underway to provide grants to survivors who were not selected the first go around.
Survivors have slowly accepted the reality they must move forward. That meant transitional housing, the decision to rebuild, repairing a damaged home and wading through the red tape and delays of disaster recovery assistance. It’s not as simple as one might seem to pick yourself back up following a traumatic event such as this. Our agency’s focus has transitioned from the one of ‘rapid response,’ which we deployed in the early going, to now Recovery and Rebuild, which is what we’ve titled the thrust of our programs dedicated to this long-term effort. We’re disbursing immediate cash assistance grants for survivors. Apply below. Reconstruction has started on many of the Altadena and Pasadena lots where homes and businesses were destroyed by the Eaton Fire.
Yet believe it or not, here in mid-2025, debris still remains piled on some lots as the fire left it. It will take some time before a true neighborly sense of “community” returns to these areas, but our commitment to full restoration will always be there. Some estimates say as many as seven to ten years before a sense of normalcy ever returns to the burned areas.
Drop-off Location:
New Revelation Church
855 N. Orange Grove Blvd
Pasadena, CA 91103
THE LOS ANGELES URBAN LEAGUE
ENTREPRENEURSHIP CENTER
Resources for Businesses and Business Owners for this Wildfire Emergency
THE LOS ANGELES URBAN LEAGUE
DISASTER RECOVERY FUNDING
Immediate Assistance Available Now for those Affected by Wildfires
Black Altadena Households Disproportionately More Likely to be Victims of Eaton Fire Damage or Destruction
The Eaton Fire has inflicted disproportionate impacts on Altadena’s Black and Latino Communities. These are just some of the findings, according to a comprehensive data brief and study released three weeks after the Eaton Fire broke out. The encompassing report was composed jointly by the, UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge and the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute.
The fire that flattened more than 9400 homes in the Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre communities, broke out during the early evening of January 7th. The report and study, that detailed the impacts caused by the fire, came out on January 28th. Here below are the links to the study and a follow-up report also authored by UCLA.
- LA Wildfires: Impacts on Altadena’s Black Community – UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies
- Report Analysis & Follow Up – UCLA Newsroom – Altadena’s Black community disproportionately affected by Eaton Fire
OUTREACH
OBTAIN ASSISTANCE
If you or your family need help, please access these available services:
Federal Assistance
FEMA: Apply for assistance now. Federal assistance is available to eligible individuals and families affected by this disaster.
State Assistance
Resources for Californians Impacted by Los Angeles Fire. Essential resources and information you can access immediately.Â
Local Assistance
Los Angeles County Public Health Department: Protect your health from smoke, safely clean your home, and rebuild after a fire.