Exclamations of joy resonate from the playground at Eagle Rock Recreation Center. Clusters of 30 youngsters assemble according to their preferred breakfast choices.
“I like pancakes more than waffles,” remarked one young one.
“Pancakes, pancakes!” they sang in unison, inviting others to partake.
Amid the chaos in home life, there was an air of normalcy among the children present at the recreation facility. A few miles away in Altadena, thousands of residences, educational institutions, and businesses were devastated by the Eaton Fire and left in shambles.
The Eaton and Palisades fires obliterated at least 11 public and private schools and around 30 childcare centers, causing extensive destruction that necessitated the evacuation of countless families and annihilated over 12,000 buildings, including many residences. The devastation was significant.
Throughout Los Angeles County, numerous families whose lives have been disrupted by the fires are seeking assistance from disaster pop-up camps such as Project:Camp to uphold some degree of structure and routine for their children. In collaboration with LA City Recreation and Parks, this camp offers complimentary childcare during the fire emergency. The organization has aided in crises across the nation, including Hurricane Helen in North Carolina in 2024 and the Maui wildfires in 2023.
The organization currently operates three camps throughout Los Angeles County and intends to launch additional ones as the need arises. This week, registration for camps in Los Angeles quickly reached capacity within hours of opening.
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Organizations like the Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, and Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation are also providing complimentary childcare alternatives. Furthermore, various preschools, local enterprises, and families are proactively creating drop-in childcare during this critical period.
“Younger children particularly depend on consistency in their lives to feel secure,” stated Karen Rogers, a clinical psychologist at the National School Crisis and Bereavement Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. She explained that residing in a different location could result in a loss of predictability. ”
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Francis, 6, and Harriet, 9, hurried to embrace their mother, Anne Thornburgh, while awaiting their pick-up at the Eagle Rock Recreation Center. The sisters had spent recent days engaging in games and sharing brief tales of their experiences with other children as part of Project:Camp’s trauma-informed caregiving approach. St. Mark’s School in Altadena, which both attended, was ravaged by the Eaton Fire.
“It’s challenging to be home with a 9-year-old and a 6-year-old while feeling that everything is unpredictable,” Thornburgh expressed, noting that many of her daughter’s friends have been displaced.
Anne Thornburgh and her daughter Frances, 6, are involved in Project Camp, which offers free childcare to families affected by the fires, at the Eagle Rock Recreation Center on January 15th. I go to pick up Harriet (9 years old) on the left. The school of Frances and Harriet, St. Paul’s Marks, was devastated by the Eaton fire.
(Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times)
Michael Dodge also experienced similar challenges, as his two kids attended Altadena Arts Magnet, which was compromised by fire and ranks among the last schools in Pasadena Unified to receive assistance to resume operations. He learned it would be one of the institutions. He finds solace in having his children, ages 7 and 9, interact with other kids and seeing them daily as he and his spouse manage work, volunteer opportunities, and support friends. Many of whom have been displaced.
“We aim to maintain a routine,” Dodge mentioned. Despite the interruption, he continues to collect his children from camp and then take them to dancing and basketball sessions as he would typically do.
Moreover, he emphasized to local educational systems affected by the fires that implementing structure through camps and various activities can aid children in feeling more at ease when everything surrounding them is in flux. Ms. Rogers noted that knowing what comes next during the day can significantly influence their comfort levels.
Childcare facilities like Santa Monica’s Big and Tiny 10th Street Preschool are also striving to bolster family stability by offering free childcare to those displaced by the blazes. Owner Kelce Bilbao has welcomed the initial students starting on Wednesday, together with their mothers to allay fears. This month, she received inquiries from 15 families interested in enrolling their children.
Meanwhile, her two daughters, whose charter school campus remains shut because it is located in an evacuation zone, are opting for schooling online instead of attending classes in Santa Monica, which is being run by a local gymnastics center and taekwondo school. They have chosen to attend a complimentary camp. Bilbao articulated that they were yearning for a semblance of normalcy and described their anxiety about returning to their Brentwood home after the evacuation, despite the lack of power. She hopes the camp would provide that, along with stability.
“Right now, we don’t want them engaging in anything intensive,” Bilbao asserted. “Next week, if I discover this will drag out, I might have to shift them to Zoom, but I’m not particularly keen about that.”
Nikki Hemat shared that she and other parents faced challenges with childcare and keeping their children occupied after her son’s private school, Village School in Pacific Palisades, was reduced to ashes.
Hemat, who resides in Brentwood but is not within the evacuation area, finally resolved this week to organize a daily “camp” for her son and kids from other affected or closed elementary schools in and around the Palisades. It led to the formation of a new initiative.
On Tuesday, over a dozen youngsters converged on the playground and field at the Barrington Recreation Center to participate in basketball. A sports coach, who volunteered to supervise the children at a significantly reduced fee, guided them through training sessions, while Hemat and a handful of other parents exchanged stories about fire recovery at a picnic table.
“Normalcy is vital for these children,” says Hemat. “For several days, they were glued to their iPads. We sought to get them outdoors and moving around so their parents could complete the essential paperwork and applications, such as FEMA. This would allow them to find time to do so.”
This article is part of The Times’ Early Childhood Education Initiative, which focuses on the learning and development of California’s children from birth to age 5. To find out more about this initiative and its philanthropic supporters, visit latimes.com/earlyed.