Top Takeaways Despite longstanding damage, both Los Angeles Unified and Pasadena Unified have worked to support students through their emotional struggles and rebuild campuses. The devastation was compounded for students in the foster system or who were suddenly thrust into homelessness. Community members are still mourning intangible losses, and the toll on mental health remains significant. A year ago, Tanya Reyes watched in disbelief as the Eaton fire incinerated her Altadena home. As her three daughters listed everything they had lost in the days that followed, Reyes kept reminding them that what mattered most was that they still had each other. A year later, Reyes is struggling. The steadiness she once summoned for her children has been worn down by chronic back pain, brought on by the strain of moving every few months, and the emotional toll of rebuilding her family’s life while working her teaching job supporting pregnant and parenting teens. Video: Tanya Reyes’ home in flames during the January 2025 fires in Altadena. Reyes is a teacher at McAlister High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and is among thousands of Los Angeles-area residents who watched their way of life destroyed as fires tore through neighborhoods and schools. Today, life is about finding equilibrium in a new normal, with many still putting the pieces of their old lives back together. “I’m very much a go-getter and a doer,” she said. “And my body is saying, ‘No, you can’t.’” The 2025 fires cut a wide swath…
