Latest news with #LomaAltaPark
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'We all need hope': Altadena community park reopens four months after fires
Before January's Eaton Fire, Eric and Ali Glasser and their three young children made a habit of walking a few blocks from their Altadena home to Loma Alta Park. Over the last few months, the Glassers have been driving by watching construction crews' progress on repairing the park's damage. They arrived at Loma Alta's grand reopening Saturday morning eager to find some normalcy in a life that's been anything but recently. "This little guy has been really sad about his playground burning," said Ali Glasser, 43, pointing to her 2-year-old son who was eyeing a winding slide on new playground equipment. The Glassers' home survived the fire — neighbors helped fight nearby flames — but smoke and ash damage have forced them away. They've moved 14 times before settling in a rental in Highland Park. Ali Glasser called the park's reopening "a beacon and bright spot amidst a lot of devastation." "As a community we're all still mourning," she said. "At the same time, life does go on for our children." Neighbors in Altadena and government, business and nonprofit leaders hailed the renovated, rebuilt and expanded Loma Alta Park at a reopening ceremony Saturday. They praised the park as a hub for gathering and recreation as the community recovers from a disaster that displaced more than 6,000 families. The park, which spans 17 acres, escaped major damage from the fire, but playground equipment melted and ash covered the pool and spread over the grounds. Los Angeles County workers and thousands of volunteers worked to clean up the area. Businesses and nonprofits donated funding and equipment. Saturday's debut came with all new play structures, a conversation nook with Adirondack chairs and coffee stand, a satellite library, baseball fields, computer lab and renovated pool and basketball court. Within hours of the mid-morning ribbon cutting, dozens of children traipsed through the play areas, seniors were deep into a bingo game and families lined up for a Little League baseball ceremony. Read more: 'Tone deaf.' Call for volunteers to clean park in fire zone faces pushback in Altadena Mark Mariscal, a 36-year Altadena resident who lost his house in the fire, said he was excited to spend time with his grandchildren in the park again. While he's found alternative housing, Mariscal said he and many other fire survivors remain unsettled and daunted by the lengthy process of rebuilding their homes. It was important to celebrate one of the only public spaces that could reopen now, he said. "We all need hope, and we all need love and we all need appreciation," Mariscal said. The decision to reopen the park so quickly wasn't without controversy. Many residents reacted angrily when L.A. County officials called for volunteers in March to help with rebuilding the park, saying that the decision was tone deaf in the face of fire survivors' trauma and unsafe given the toxicity of the debris. Glasser said she felt "mixed emotions" about the park's reopening, noting neighbors' concerns on the timing and extent of the cleanup efforts. Some residents came to the opening to call attention to critical housing and public safety problems in the wake of the fire that they said weren't being addressed. Read more: After disasters, FEMA leases apartments for survivors. But not after the L.A. fires Julie Esnard, 67, said she and her neighbors feel trapped in their apartment building, which is reserved for low-income seniors. The building, which opened last year, is still standing along an Altadena commercial strip but was damaged by smoke and ash. Esnard said evacuation the night of the fire was chaotic after the building lost power. Elevators no longer functioned, and residents had to drag themselves down the stairs while the complex filled with smoke, she said. The building's residents returned two weeks after the fires, and Esnard is unconvinced that it's safe. Multiple burned lots across the street from the building haven't been cleared of their debris, and residents are fearful of what remains on the sites. "Nobody goes outside," Esnard said, leaning on her walker. "It's toxic and we're old." Esnard, who has lived in Altadena for 60 years, joined about two dozen other residents and activists who marched and held up signs at the opening calling for greater protections for renters, more enforcement of laws requiring homes to be habitable and direct assistance for fire survivors still living in cars and shelters. They delivered a letter to Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents the area, asking her to host a town hall to address their concerns. "We're mad and we want things to change for the better," Esnard said. "Renters and elders have been ignored." Barger said she planned to review the request, but said "it was unfortunate that they felt it was better to disrupt" Saturday's event. Barger toured the park's refurbished amenities and said residents were thankful for somewhere to return so soon after the fires. "People were grateful for the fact that they have a place, a space to come," Barger said. "Many of them are displaced, so they're coming up here and reconnecting with their community." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Altadena's Loma Alta Park reopens months after Eaton Fire
The Brief Altadena had a grand re-opening celebration for Loma Alta Park on Saturday. Much of the park was destroyed by the fire, and is now open with new ball fields, a new gym, and more. Residents said the re-opening marks a turning point in LOS ANGELES - Altadena celebrated the re-opening of Loma Alta Park on Saturday, months after it was damaged in the deadly Eaton Fire. The community came out to celebrate the milestone. What we know Much of Loma Alta Park was destroyed in the Eaton Fire in January, along with more than 9,400 other structures. Now, the park has not only been repaired, but much improved, with new playground equipment, ball fields, a gym and more. The renovations include a three-story, state-of-the-art play structure, and an inclusive structure for kids of all abilities. They were built with the help of a multi-million-dollar grant from Fire Aid, the benefit concert. SUGGESTED: Nursing student living in car with 2 kids after losing home to LA wildfire The massive restoration was the work of over 2,000 volunteers, with a lot of help from charitable groups like the Los Angeles Dodgers foundation, who funded the Dodgers Dreamfields, the only baseball fields in Altadena. The Los Angeles Clippers foundation funded the renovation of the gym and its courts. Kids got to play on Saturday with former Clipper Craig Smith. Many of them lost their homes in the Eaton Fire. What they're saying "It is pretty devastating to know that a kid doesn't have their home, and to be able to put some light in their eyes and their heart and their soul. It goes a long way, and it makes me really happy to be able to put a smile on the kids' faces. " Eric Lewis, a playground consultant who worked on the project, said the experience was very rewarding. "The reward is right here," Lewis said. "The children playing. That's what we do it for." Residents who spent the day at the park said Saturday's grand re-opening was a turning point in the community's recovery. Jessica Neu said it's important "just to see everyone enjoying the park again, to feel like it's a community that's coming back to life." "It makes me feel happy because more people are coming together after the tragedy," said Jude Ammons, whose family lost their home in the fire. The Source Information in this story is from interviews with residents at Saturday's event, former LA Clipper Craig Smith, playground consultant Eric Lewis and previous FOX 11 reports.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
A park that was damaged in the Eaton Fire is now a ‘super park'
An Altadena green space that was damaged by the Eaton Fire has been officially rejuvenated and is now being deemed a 'super park' by officials. 'Touted as a 'super park,' Loma Alta Park will feature newly refurbished and enhanced park spaces along with expended services and programming,' the L.A. County Department of Parks and Recreation said in a media statement. Funding to refurbish the park came from many different sources, the parks department said, including the FireAid benefit concert, which provided a grant of $2.4 million to help rebuild the two fire-damaged playgrounds as part of their 'Symbols of Hope' grant program. The two new structures, which are three stories each and completely ADA accessible, are the very first structures of their kind anywhere, according to L.A. County Parks. A new space at the park – called Alta Chat – consists of a space with Adirondack chairs so that Altadena residents can have a gathering spot again. Officials stated that the hub, which L.A. County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger funded, will inspire 'a much-needed lost neighborhood connection.' Coyote encounters in Santa Monica on the rise in wake of Palisades Fire The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation funded two baseball fields, which are the only two in Altadena and the first two Dodgers Dreamfields in the unincorporated part of the city, the parks department said. On the basketball side of things, the Los Angeles Clippers Foundation provided funding for renovation of the park's gym and courts; additionally, they will offer the Jr. Clippers Basketball Program for area youth. The Clippers Foundation, in conjunction with Pechanga Resort and Casino, also funded a new computer lab and tech center that will provide a Wi-Fi hotspot for the park and a full-service technology hub for park users. 'Loma Alta Park is a vital gathering place where our community can come together, especially in times of healing,' Supervisor Barger said. 'After the trauma of the Eaton Fire, having a space to reconnect, rebuild relationships and support one another is incredibly important. Parks like Loma Alta help restore not only our physical surroundings, but our sense of belonging.' The first park in L.A. County to reopen in the wake of the fire, Loma Alta Park will also feature a satellite senior center, as the Department of Aging and Disabilities facility burned down. A satellite Altadena library will also offer an array of programming for all ages. Parks department officials also partnered with the county health department and the Office for Advancement of Early Care and Education to provide 100 after-school and summer education program slots for children ages 5-12 that will run all day. A Tiny Tots program for children ages 3-4 will also be available. 'After the Eaton Fire, 2,802 early childhood education spaces were lost, 34 early childhood education licensed facilities destroyed and four facilities damaged,' the parks department said in their release. 'Supporting families and children after the Eaton Fire with childcare continues to be a priority for L.A. County Parks.' Volunteers continue beautifying Los Angeles ahead of large-scale events with 'Shine L.A.' program The parks department will also be providing 15 Altadena youth employment through the Youth@Work program; the county's Department of Economic Opportunity is also helping to fund the hiring of 20 childcare professionals whose jobs or businesses were destroyed in the fire. Department of Mental Health clinicians will be onsite to provide resources to those in need, and a SPOT Teen Center will be open to assist 12 to 18 year olds. In total, more than 2,000 volunteers from across the county helped refurbish the area by planting 44 trees, 32 seedlings, 818 plants and spreading 50,000 square feet of mulch. Saturday's opening ceremony at the newly revitalized Loma Alta Park included a ribbon-cutting ceremony as well as multiple free family-friendly events. 'We had over 2,000 volunteers from across LA County sign up in April to help their Altadena neighbors by painting murals, planting trees and shrubs, and enhancing the park,' said Norma E. García-González, Director of LA County Parks. 'Loma Alta Park was fortunate that none of its buildings burned, which allowed us to move quickly to meet this community need, and now it is ready to better serve Altadena with new and expanded services and facility improvements. The community asked for the park to reopen, and knew we needed to meet the moment…here we are, as promised, just two months later.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
