One year on from two of the most devastating wildfires in California’s history, two communities in the greater Los Angeles area Wednesday, Jan. 7, are mourning the death and loss caused by the Eaton and Palisades fires.
Events across the region are taking place all day at schools, local businesses, houses of worship and burned down local landmarks in various stages of rebuilding.
Some will be simple gatherings, where survivors and neighbors will reflect. Some events will be more ceremonial, where the memories of lives losts and survivors will be honored. In still other moments today, local leaders and survivors plan to weigh in on the recovery process and call for accountability over the causes and responses to the blazes.
Also see: Our Eaton and Palisades fires ongoing recovery and rebuilding coverage
What you need to know one year later:
The two fires, which sparked eight hours apart, combined to kill at least 31 people, destroy more than 15,000 structures and burn nearly 40,000 acres. This past fall a 29-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of lighting the fire that officials say eventually swelled into the Palisades fire. Altadena awaits the official cause of the Eaton fire, but survivors and plaintiff attorneys in hundreds of lawsuits point to the public utility Southern California Edison as being at fault for its equipment and mismanagement sparking the blaze in the foothills above the town.Our team of reporters and photographers are out in both communities today covering several remembrance events taking place throughout the day.
Remembrances begin in a context of prayer, reflection
Remembrances, reflections in both fire footprints began in earnest on Tuesday night.
About 400 people gathered under big white tent on North Altadena Drive, the first time Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center congregants have been together at the site. It’s where the synagogue once stood, before the Eaton fire burned it down on its path through Altadena, Pasadena and Sierra Madre.
“This space is for all of us to mourn together, pay tribute to those we lost, and acknowledge the depth of our sorrow,” the temple’s Rabbi Joshua Ratner said.
The temple’s original building was constructed in 1941. About 15 member families lost their homes in the blaze, and many remain displaced.
Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who received an award at the event, acknowledged today’s anniversary will be a difficult one for her, even as she thanked the Jewish community for making her a better leader.
“Tonight, I look at this as a time of hope, of what can be done when we work together,” she said.
The Rev. Matt Hardin prepares to lead an evening prayer service at Brentwood Presbyterian Church, which has housed his congregation since the Palisades Fire destroyed his church one year ago, on Tuesday January 6, 2026. The cross in front of his pulpit is the only thing from Palisades Presbyterian Church that survived the fire. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)In the Palisades late Tuesday, in a service juxtaposing grief and hope, the displaced congregation of the Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church met for a bittersweet gathering that marked the one-yearanniversary of the fire that destroyed their church.
“I hate those memories,” Pastor Matthew Hardin told the group assembled at theBrentwood Presbyterian Church, which has served as their temporary home since spring. “Ireally do. I hate them. And I was really not looking forward to this anniversary because I knew itwas going to stir up those memories.”
A look at the future at LAUSD’s impacted campuses
One year after the Palisades fire destroyed or damaged three school campuses, Los Angeles Unified School District officials have announced that Palisades Charter High School will reopen its campus in two weeks, while permanent rebuilding of two elementary schools is expected to be completed by fall of 2028.
The January 2025 fire forced the evacuation and relocation of thousands of students at Marquez Charter Elementary, Palisades Charter Elementary and Palisades Charter High School, triggering the most widespread school disruptions in the nation’s second-largest school district since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are here today to celebrate one year, to memorialize the tragedy, the sacrifice, the anger, the pain suffered by the Palisades community a year ago as a result of these unprecedented, devastating fires,” Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said. “But like the phoenix, we cannot be kept down. We are flying high.”
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