Service worker ecosystems were also decimated in L.A. fires. Here are efforts to help

Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

• Service workers look to recover from the economic loss of L.A. fires.
• A Republican bill would ban transgender girls from high school sports in California.
• L.A.’s wellness community is healing a fire-torn city with free massages, meditations, and sound baths.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper.

The other victims of L.A.’s firestorm

Thousands of residents watched their homes and neighborhoods wiped swiftly off the map during last week’s deadly Palisades and Eaton fires.

The catastrophic blazes also erased an entire ecosystem of housekeepers, nannies, landscapers, restaurant workers and others who keep communities thriving.

Now thousands are without work and wondering how to stay afloat as individuals and groups in L.A. County and beyond race to help them.

Pizza of Venice was burned by the Eaton fire in Altadena.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

‘Practically our whole lives were there’

In Pacific Palisades, thousands of multimillion-dollar homes and businesses were destroyed, which had “provided jobs to an untold number of nannies, gardeners, housekeepers, plumbers, pool cleaners and other service workers,” Times reporters Brittny Mejia and Ruben Vives wrote this week.

They shared the story of married couple Carol Mayorga and Manfredo Salazar. About 10 properties they maintained and worked as housekeepers were destroyed or are now inaccessible.

The couple is now worried how to recover from the lost income and keep providing for their children.

Carol Mayorga and her husband lost several clients in a week, after fire destroyed nearly 10 of the properties where they worked in Pacific Palisades.

(John McCoy / For The Times)

“Practically our whole lives were there,” Mayorga told Ruben and Brittny. “We only came home to sleep.”

A friend started a GoFundMe for the family, which had raised more than $10,000 as of Wednesday.

Food service workers are also being affected

The fires burned down or damaged several restaurants in Malibu, Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Other establishments were not damaged but remain inaccessible due to the devastation.

“Many have lost their jobs and main source of income,” Times food writers Cindy Carcamo and Stephanie Breijo reported this week. “Some workers have also lost their homes.”

They spoke with a veteran food runner, a chef, a coffee shop owner and others affected by the fires.

Wilfredo Quinteros, 55, a food runner at Moonshadows in Malibu for 23 years, at home in Los Angeles. The restaurant burned down and Quinteros finds himself without a job.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

“I’ve lost my identity,” 55-year-old Wilfredo Quinteros, who worked at Moonshadows for 23 years, told them. The restaurant was leveled by the Palisades fire.

“Many service-industry workers who lost their homes might still have jobs, but they’re spending hours navigating new housing, insurance systems and transportation, which can cut into their work shifts,” Stephanie and Cindy noted.

People and organizations are stepping up to help

The L.A.-based organization Inclusive Aid is seeking donations for its Open Air Worker Emergency Fund. Its goal is to provide a one-time payment of $500 in cash assistance to landscapers, recycling collectors and street vendors who’ve lost income as a result of the fires, the group says. Another online fundraiser was nearing its $80,000 donation goal on Wednesday.

The National Domestic Workers Alliance is also raising funds, stating that the majority of such workers are Black, Latino or immigrant women.

An aerial view of neighborhoods destroyed by the Palisades fire.

(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)

“These are the women who care for our children, our aging loved ones, and our homes,” group officials wrote. “Yet, many of them lack access to the safety nets that most workers rely on during disasters, leaving them vulnerable as they face the long road to recovery.”

A number of other crowdfunding campaigns have been launched to help affected workers who lost their place of work, their own businesses, their home — or all those combined.

The California Restaurant Foundation is also accepting applications for emergency grants to assist food and beverage workers impacted by the fires through its Restaurants Care program.

Some affected workers could qualify for federal disaster aid. California’s Employment Development Department has more information on who qualifies and how to apply.

You can read more about affected workers and the outpouring of support in my colleagues’ stories:

• These gardeners, housekeepers, nannies kept Pacific Palisades going. Fire took their jobs
• Fires burned up their restaurant jobs. ‘From one day to another, we have no work’

Today’s top stories

The Bridges House by architect Robert Bridges was destroyed by the Palisades fire.

(Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times)

The wildfires’ impact on schools, historic buildings and restaurants

• The Eaton firestorm destroyed five schools within the boundaries of the Pasadena Unified School District, upending the education of thousands of students whose schooling is jolted again.
• United Teachers Los Angeles said it has identified 148 employees it represents who lost their homes.
• Beloved landmarks by Frank Lloyd Wright, Rudolph Schindler and others stand outside of the immediate fire threat, but other notable houses have not been so lucky. Here’s a partial accounting of the confirmed losses.
• These are the Malibu and Altadena restaurants damaged or destroyed by L.A. fires. Some don’t know whether they’ll be able to reopen.
• Here are the famed movie and TV locations destroyed in the Southern California fires.

A Republican bill would ban transgender girls from high school sports in California

• The proposed law, called the Protect Girls’ Sports Act, is almost certain to fail in a Legislature controlled by a Democratic supermajority with a record of embracing inclusion for LGBTQ+ Californians.
• Even if it fails in the state Capitol, the bill could cause conflicts around California.

A cease-fire deal has been reached

• More than 15 months into Israel’s devastating war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the two sides have agreed to a cease-fire deal that would pause fighting and free some Israeli hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners.
• The deal still faces obstacles. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Cabinet must approve it, which is not guaranteed.

President Biden’s declarations in his final week in office

• Biden created two vast national monuments in California. Proponents say they will protect a plethora of vulnerable wildlife and culturally significant sites while staving off development and resource extraction.
• The Biden administration will also remove the ‘terrorism’ designation on Cuba, a label given the island nation in the last days of the previous Trump presidency.

What else is going on

• L.A.’s ‘off the charts’ dryness keeps risk of new fires high. Rain is desperately needed.
• Hollywood production rose at the end of a brutal 2024. But wildfires add new uncertainty.
• Signs of rent gouging spike across the region in fires’ wake, bringing calls for enforcement.
• Sen. Marco Rubio appears set to win confirmation as secretary of State.
• Trump’s tariffs brought China and Mexico closer. Will his second term change that?
• Tiger Woods says people ‘lost everything’ in Palisades fire. He isn’t focused on Genesis Invitational.

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Commentary and opinions

• The GOP attack on the safety net and middle-class programs begins to take shape, columnist Michael Hiltzik writes.
• L.A. Times sports columnist Bill Plaschke feels equally grateful and guilty that his home in Altadena was spared as wildfire ravaged his neighborhood.
• California’s inmate firefighters deserve more than a raise. Make them employees, guest columnist Chandra Bozelko writes.
• L.A. was lucky, with lots of help fighting fires. But no one should count on luck, writes guest columnist Jay Balagna.

This morning’s must reads

Many everyday items in grocery stores contain red dye No. 3, including these frosted sugar cookies.

(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)

The FDA knew long ago that red dye No. 3 causes cancer. Why did it take so long to ban it? The decision, lauded by consumer advocacy groups, comes a full 25 years after scientists at the agency determined that rats fed large amounts of the artificial color additive were much more likely to develop malignant thyroid tumors than rats who weren’t given the food coloring.

Other must reads

• Through burning hills and blinding smoke: the aerial fight to save a city.
• Angel City’s Ali Riley lost her childhood home to wildfire. Her wedding became an ‘oasis.’
• Nuccio’s Nurseries’ famous camellias survived the Eaton fire. But with no water, what now?
• Fire charred two L.A. music utopias. Will they ever recover?
• L.A. fires have added another concern for potential EV buyers: power outages.
• The Supreme Court leans in favor of state-enforced age limits on porn websites.

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to [email protected].

For your downtime

Licensed massage therapists perform free bodywork on firefighters in a Zuma Beach parking lot, to help them with pain management and mobility. The service is just one of many the wellness community is offering to support firefighters and wildfire victims.

(Do Good Bus)

Going out

• 💆L.A.’s wellness community is healing a fire-torn city with free massages, meditations, and sound baths.

Staying in

• 📺‘Severance’ Season 1 — now streaming on Apple TV+ — ended in a cliffhanger. What will happen in Season 2?
• 🍽️ Here’s a recipe for Crudo e Nudo’s tuna tartare toast.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

A question for you: How do you show up for your community during a time of tragedy?

In the wake of the Los Angeles County firestorm, volunteers have donated money, offered shelter for pets and served food to those in need.

What are some ways you’ve assisted your community during a tragedy?

Email us at [email protected], and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.

And finally ... from our archives

(Los Angeles Times)

On Jan. 16, 1985, the front page of the Los Angeles Times featured an image of Martin Luther King Jr.’s relatives and activist Dick Gregory, who all led a march in Atlanta to mark the 56th birthday of the assassinated civil rights leader. The following year, King’s birth date became a federal holiday.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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