Parents, kids navigate loss and tragedy as they return home after LA County fires

• February 23, 2025

By JAIMIE DING, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ceiba Phillips, 11, couldn’t believe what he saw when he returned to his Altadena neighborhood a month after a wildfire reduced it to rubble.

The ruins of his best friend’s house and his beloved school. His house survived, but the backhouse where his grandparents lived and packed him lunch every morning was reduced to ashes and a silver pool of melted aluminum. His favorite cozy diner, Fox’s, was decimated.

Seeing it in person — after seeing it through photos — brought shock and tears.

“There’s not even a word created for it,” Ceiba said. “It’s sad, it’s heavy, somewhat angry. Why did this have to happen?”

The Eaton fire that tore through Altadena on Jan. 7 left parents and children alike to deal with the trauma of one of the most destructive fires in California history. As people return to their neighborhoods, many kids are navigating the grief of losing everything that was familiar. Their parents, meanwhile, are learning how to help them cope.

Children thrive on routine, and reestablishing one as quickly as possible is key to helping kids cope, said Lori Peek, a sociology professor at the University of Colorado Boulder who studies the impact of natural disasters. It’s essential for kids to stay connected with their friends, and for parents to have honest conversations with them about the difficulty of what they are facing.

“Being honest about our own emotions and opening up, but then being very inviting for children to share what they’re feeling, what they’re grieving, what they’re experiencing, that can be one way to start those really important conversations,” Peek said.

It’s this kind of space that Chiara Angelicola, who works in early childhood education, was trying to create when she organized a Kids Town Hall event for families affected by the fires. Children had the opportunity to share how they felt and participate in art and somatic therapy exercises, which focus on how trauma can affect the body. Ceiba’s 4-year-old sister, Quoia, went with their mother, Alyson Granaderos, along with more than 100 other kids and parents.

“A lot of these kids had a lot to say … and some of it even made the adults uncomfortable,” Angelicola said. “I think that exercise in learning how to be uncomfortable experiencing certain feelings is very necessary for children because we’re modeling for them that feelings won’t hurt us.”

Hundreds of therapists and non-profits also have offered their mental health services for free to victims of the fires.

A last normal day

Ceiba’s home was one of about six on his street that wasn’t destroyed, but it sustained so much smoke damage it’s not livable right now. On a recent day, the family carefully entered wearing respirator masks and protective equipment.

Ceiba looked out his bedroom window and said he didn’t care that his house had survived. “I’d rather have all of Altadena,” he said.

Ceiba remembers every detail of his last normal day.

School let out early due to intense Santa Ana winds that fueled the fires. He and his sister went to Ceiba’s best friend’s house. They played on a trampoline, drew comics, and chucked LEGO figurines off the balcony.

“I’ve probably been to his house more than 2,000 times,” Ceiba said.

That evening, the family received a text message from Ceiba’s grandma asking if they saw the fire that had broken out nearby. They ran to their window and saw the whole mountainside ablaze.

“I was on the floor like praying, please protect my house and my family. And you know, mom’s like, ‘Come on, you got to get up, pack your stuff,’” Ceiba said.

The 11-year-old sprang into action, dumping his clothes and quarters into his bag and packing for his younger sister.

They sheltered in their dad’s office in neighboring Pasadena. Ceiba could barely sleep. By the morning, much of his neighborhood was gone.

Finding a rhythm again

Ceiba’s days have taken on a rhythm again, even at his new school in Pasadena.

When he greeted his mom on a recent afternoon, he shared a fun fact he’d learned that day: In 1846, a future president, Abraham Lincoln, had almost joined the ill-fated Donner Party as it set out from Springfield, Illinois, on its infamous journey out West, only to get trapped in California’s Sierra Nevada.

Ceiba has decided to play the saxophone in band class, and his state project will be on Michigan, where his mom is from. Granaderos said her son already seems to be adapting.

But his conversations with friends now veer into unusual topics for 11-year-olds.

“The insurance isn’t covering us and how’s your house? How’s this person’s house?” Ceiba said, sharing what he and his friends discuss.

He wonders what will become of his community. He’s optimistic though.

“I know Altadena and I know that it’s going to stick together,” Ceiba said.

Beauty, sadness and destruction

Ceiba had clamored right away to go back home after the fire, but Granaderos was hesitant. After the dust settled, she knew that allowing her kids to see and experience what happened was part of the healing process.

“You’re facing this realization of certain conversations you have to start to have with your kid, right?” Granaderos said. “There’s beauty in the world, and there’s also a lot of sadness and destruction.”

Quoia burst into tears when the family drove past what was left of The Bunny Museum in Pasadena dedicated to rabbits. She loved seeing the giant inflatable bunnies that loomed over the street corner nearly every day. Ceiba cried along with her.

“I just couldn’t really take it,” he said.

But not all is lost.

Granaderos named both of her children after trees — Ceiba, the tree of life, and Quoia after the Sequoia. She planted a sapling of the iconic Sequoia — which is extraordinarily resilient to fire, insects and disease — in the home’s backyard when Quoia was a baby.

After the fire, it is still standing.

​ Orange County Register 

DeVito, Ferrell, Vaughn to headline hockey event benefiting fire relief effort

• February 23, 2025

Danny DeVito, Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn will headline a celebrity hockey event Sunday at Crypto.com Arena to benefit fire relief efforts.

Hosted by the Los Angeles Kings in partnership with the NHL, Skate for LA Strong will raise funds for the LA Fire Relief Fund. The event will be highlighted by a single-elimination hockey tournament featuring teams made up of celebrities, NHL alumni and first responders, organizers said.

Hockey legends set to take the ice include Mark Messier, Rob Blake, Cammi Granato, P.K. Subban, Dion Phaneuf, Jeff Carter, Matt Greene and Jarret Stoll.

“We have seen so much being done to help but the work doesn’t stop,” Kings President Luc Robitaille said in a statement. “We all believe we must keep doing everything in our power to help these victims and displaced families recover and rebuild their lives.”

Tickets for the event are being distributed to firefighters, first responders, fire victims and their families, organizers said.

The event will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, and it will be broadcast across multiple platforms, including ESPN2, ESPN+, Disney+, Hulu, truTV, Sportsnet, FanDuel Sports Network, KCAL9, Pluto TV and Samsung TV Plus.

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers value Markieff Morris’ leadership, experience

• February 23, 2025

DENVER — When the Lakers made the three-team trade that landed them Luka Doncic three weeks ago, all of the attention, understandably so, went towards the 25-year-old five-time All-Star they acquired.

But in Markieff Morris, who also came to L.A. as part of the trade, the Lakers acquired something they didn’t have before his arrival – a veteran presence whose impact goes beyond what on the floor.

Morris, a 14-season NBA veteran, became the Lakers’ second-oldest (35) and second-most experienced player behind LeBron James, the 40-year-old four-time MVP in his 22nd NBA season, when he was acquired by the team.

“He’s been awesome,” Coach JJ Redick said pregame ahead of Saturday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. “It’s very valuable to have a guy like that, a voice, an older voice, someone who’s seen it all in the NBA, someone who’s won a championship, obviously that helps as well.

“He’s been great on the bench with talking with guys, making sure our bench energy is good. I told him the other day, we see it and we appreciate it and we all just value what he’s doing right now from that aspect in leadership.”

Morris was part of the Lakers’ 2019-20 NBA championship-winning team, which garners respect in the locker room.

“It’s important that he’s been through it with LeBron and our guys know that,” Redick added.  “LeBron respects him, our guys respect him. And again, it’s something I talked about maybe a month ago. There’s so many different forms of leadership and we need Kieff’s leadership.”

IMPROVED DEFENSE

The Lakers entered Saturday with the league’s third-best defensive rating (106.8) in their previous nine games going back to Jan. 30 – all of which came without Anthony Davis, who they sent to the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 2 as part of the trade for Doncic.

Davis sat out two games because of an injury before being traded.

Nuggets coach Michael Malone offered his insight into why the Lakers have been able to perform at a high level defensively despite losing an All-Defense honoree in Davis, in addition to Max Christie.

“They can play big, which they’ve done, really big,” Malone said. “They have a number of different bigs they can use. Obviously behind Jaxson Hayes they have Alex Len, [Christian] Koloko, different players – [Trey] Jemison has played for them.

“But then they also can play small and they’ll play Rui [Hachimura] or LeBron at the 5 and switch everything. So, I think just all five guys are operating on the same page, they’re playing well and obviously you lose a guy like AD, other guys have to step up and I think that’s what you’re seeing.

​ Orange County Register 

Laguna Beach girls water polo outlasts San Clemente in sudden-death OT for CIF-SS Division 1 crown

• February 23, 2025

WALNUT — Laguna Beach’s Kara Carver earned a 5-meter penalty in sudden-death overtime and popped the submerged ball to Presley Jones for the shot. Moments later, Breakers girls water polo coach Katie Teets looked toward the sky and held her face tight.

Laguna Beach scripted a fitting ending to the CIF-SS Division 1 final Saturday at Mt. SAC.

The senior captains, including goalie Siena Jumani, delivered when it counted to lift the Breakers past San Clemente 10-9 for its Southern Section-record tying eighth title.

“It couldn’t have been a more fitting end,” Teets said. “Kara up on the counterattack. Presley stealing the ball, making that pass to (Carver). Kara drawing the 5 meter and then Presley finishing it. It was just written.”

“The three seniors have been our rocks,” the coach added. “Fighters for sure.”

Laguna Beach (20-11) needed a firm foundation to tie Newport Harbor, Corona del Mar and Santa Barbara for the most section titles in girls water polo history.

The Breakers started the season 0-6, including a 12-8 loss to San Clemente, as they retooled against top competition while not being full strength.

Teets and the players pushed on despite the pressure of playing for a program that produced Olympic gold medalists Aria and Makenzie Fischer and Annika Dries.

On Saturday, the Breakers won their third sudden-death overtime game in the past month.

“I’m so proud of this group,” Teets said. “They’ve come such a long way.”

Jones capped Laguna Beach’s third possession of sudden-death overtime by scoring the winner with 1:09 left.

The game-winning sequence started with the UCLA-bound Jones taking the ball ball after an offensive foul by San Clemente at center.

Jones tossed a long pass from the back-court to the USC-bound Carver, who was so wide open on the counterattack that she was backstroking.

“Such a fitting ending,” said Jones, who finished with four goals. “I’ve been on the same team as Kara since we were eight, nine years old. Just countless hours in the pool. I saw her on that counterattack and I knew that she was going to make something happen.”

“I’m so proud of the way we battled not just this game, but all year,” Jones added. “We overcame a lot of adversity.”

Carver tallied a game-high five goals and stopped two power-play chances with a field block and a steal.

San Clemente went 3 for 7 on the power play while Laguna Beach finished 3 for 5.

The UC Santa Barbara-bound Jumani tallied eight saves as she dueled San Clemente’s Sophia Reardon and Tera Lindberg.

Laguna Beach also received one goal from Brooke Schneider.

San Clemente (22-9) pushed hard to force overtime and sudden death.

Sophomore Hazel Thrash tied the score 8-8 with a power-play goal with 53 seconds left in regulation.

After Jones scored on a perimeter strike early in the first three-minute overtime, senior Talyn Pelkey scored from center with 57 seconds left in the second three-minute extra period to knot the score 9-9.

Pelkey, Trash, Phoebe DeMoss and Macey Punak each finished with two goals for San Clemente.

​ Orange County Register 

Long Beach State edged by UCSB as losing streak reaches 11 games

• February 23, 2025

LONG BEACH — Chris Acker didn’t lose more than two games in a row in his five years as an assistant coach at San Diego State.

It’s been a different story in his first season at the helm for Long Beach State.

LBSU lost its 11th consecutive game on Saturday afternoon, all in Big West play.

In consistent fashion, Long Beach stayed close with UC Santa Barbara for most of the game, made a late surge to get within a basket, but ultimately lost, 58-56, at the Walter Pyramid.

“Another frustrating two-point loss, but we’re not going to be that program that’s bitter or gets down,” said Acker, whose team is in serious jeopardy of missing the eight-team Big West Tournament with four games left in the regular season. “We have to regroup and figure out how we can put ourselves in a better position to win the next one. That’s the mentality.”

The defense showed up on time for Long Beach, holding the Gauchos to 30.9% shooting from the floor, but the offense did too little too late.

Long Beach shot 32.7% overall and just 2 for 13 from 3-point range.

Devin Askew scored 15 points and TJ Wainwright added 11 for LBSU (7-21 overall, 3-13 Big West).

Andrew Nagy contributed nine points off the bench and Derrick Michael Xzavierro added six points and 11 rebounds for Long Beach.

“(Xzavierro) did a tremendous job on the glass, but I’m really proud of Nagy. He came off the bench and gave us a spark,” Acker said. “He had some great plays around the rim.”

Stephan Swenson had 16 points, five rebounds and four steals to pace UCSB, while Colin Smith had 13 points in a reserve role to lead UCSB (18-10, 10-7).

The Gauchos led by 11 with three minutes left when Long Beach finally discovered its offense.

LBSU scored nine unanswered points to cut the deficit to 58-56 with 37.7 seconds left and got the ball back after a backcourt violation with 29.2 seconds remaining.

Askew missed from in close, but Long Beach regained possession again after a backcourt turnover by UCSB with 7.3 seconds to go. Askew was forced to pass the ball up to Kam Martin under pressure and he missed a desperation 3-point heave at the buzzer.

“We had (Martin) coming off a stagger on the backside and they just did a great job guarding it,” Acker said. “The ball was directed, the guys executed, the ball just didn’t go in, so hats off to Santa Barbara for getting that done.”

Three of LBSU’s past seven losses have been by two points or fewer and two others went to overtime.

“Each loss is just as heavy as the last four, whether we’re playing Caltech or we’re playing Gonzaga, it doesn’t matter,” said Long Beach forward Austin Johnson, whose team endured an eight-game losing streak during nonconference play as well. “We just want to win.”

The Gauchos held a 27-22 lead at halftime, despite shooting just 25% from the floor. They had the advantage because they held Long Beach to 27.6% shooting, including an 0-for-8 showing from 3-point range.

The Gauchos missed eight of their first nine shots while falling behind 8-3, but that was as big a lead as LBSU ever had.

Kenny Pohto scored down low to give UCSB its first lead at 14-12.

Johnson scored off one of LBSU’s eight first-half offensive rebounds to move it back in front 18-17 with 5:31 left in the half, but the Gauchos scored the next six points, all on free throws, to take their biggest advantage of the opening half at 23-18.

Both teams combined for just 15 field goals in the opening half and 16 free throws.

“I told them at halftime, we were zero percent from the 3-point line, 28 or 25 from the field, we were playing horrible offensively, couldn’t make a shot, and they were in the game,” Acker said. “They were in a five-point game.”

​ Orange County Register 

Swanson: LAFC needs Olivier Giroud to ‘score as many goals as he’s used to’

• February 23, 2025

LOS ANGELES – And we wondered whether Olivier Giroud would give LAFC a lift this season.

The 38-year-old French legend needed only to toe the sideline 77 minutes into LAFC’s 1-0 season-opening victory over Minnesota United FC on Saturday and, moments later, we saw a crackle of electricity surge through what had been a chill Saturday afternoon for the home team at BMO Stadium.

He was but a witness, but it was with Giroud waiting to come on for him that newcomer Jeremy Ebobisse got a perfectly placed pass from Nathan Ordaz – the match’s real sparkplug – and banged home a left-footed goal in the 78th minute.

The first goal of this MLS season came on Ebobisse’s last touch of the afternoon, just before he gave way to Giroud, the French World Cup winner who came of the bench Saturday because LAFC Coach Steve Cherundolo was saving him for Tuesday’s CONCACAF Champions Cup match against the Colorado Rapids.

On Saturday, it was Ebobisse’s goal that did the saving. The 28-year-old forward walked off the pitch slapping his chest, having done in his LAFC debut what Giroud managed to do only twice in 19 matches for LAFC last season – get on the scoresheet.

Then, in Ebobisse’s place, the loping Giroud took one shot in his 11 minutes, the recipient of a drive and dish from Denis Buonga. But the attempt was right at the Loons’ goalkeeper, Dayne St. Clair. An easy save.

LAFC didn’t need the goal from Giroud on Saturday, but the team will need them going forward. And lots of them.

Denis Bouanga – LAFC’s other star French forward – is still doing his dang thing for the Black & Gold, with consecutive 20-goal seasons. Otherwise, though, in the constant churn of MLS rostering LAFC lost a lot of firepower, including Mateusz Bogusz’s 20 goals.

Enter Giroud?

When the 2018 World Cup champion joined LAFC last August as the team’s highest-paid player, Giroud was fresh off of a season in Italy in which he tallied 15 goals and eight assists in 35 games for AC Milan and expecting that success to translate.

The 6-foot-4 superstar had been informed by his pal Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the former Galaxy standout who was also Giroud’s teammate in Milan, that MLS was a scorer’s paradise. That it is “a league for strikers because the teams, they don’t play to keep the result or defend. They play to score goals.”

Music to the ears of any striker, no? Especially one of the stature of Giroud, who played 20 seasons in Europe, won four FA Cups, one championship apiece in Ligue 1 and Serie A, the 2020-21 Champions League and who scored a national-record 57 goals for France.

A guy like that? It would seem the MLS would totally be his jam – if he happens to like listening to tunes on long road trips.

In Europe, Giroud played mostly in the same time zone. In MLS, teams traverse four time zones, ranging from L.A. to Montreal, Miami to Vancouver – a grind for young players, no less for a star closing in on 40, coming off a full European season and carrying a heavy burden of expectation.

“Travel is massive,” Giroud told the Guardian last September. “In Europe, when you travel in Champions League, for example, the longest flight would be one hour and a half or two hours … Here, I’ve already done 20 hours of flight in a month.”

And that’s hardly been the only unexpected challenge. Giroud’s home, which was near the evacuation zone for the Palisades Fire, was targeted earlier this month by burglars who stole a reported $500,000 worth of jewelry.

And just last week, he had the honor of playing in the second-coldest match between MLS teams – 6 degrees at kickoff in LAFC’s 2-1 loss to the Rapids in Commerce City, Colo. Giroud’s beard froze.

So, yeah, a real walk on the beach, this MLS thing.

But Bouanga remembers needing to go through an adjustment period when he arrived in L.A. In 2022, playing catchup with a new team without the benefit of preseason reps.

The next season, though, he became the goal-scoring sensation LAFC fans were celebrating Saturday with a Bouanga-approved bobblehead in his likeness.

“It’s going to be the same for him,” Bouanga said of his countryman. “Myself and my teammates are going to support him and he’s going to score as many goals as he’s used to.”

That or expect Ebobisse – previously such an LAFC nemesis – to get the call more often. Or to see more from the 21-year-old Ordaz, a homegrown Encino product who changed the tenor of what was feeling like a stroll in the sand before he came on Saturday in the 70th minute.

Because as it’s constructed, this season’s LAFC team is deep. And no matter how its constructed, every season’s LAFC team is competitive. How competitive will depend, this season, on whether they can get their French football giant going.

​ Orange County Register 

Ski patroller caught in Mammoth Mountain avalanche has died

• February 23, 2025

A ski patroller caught in a Mammoth Mountain avalanche and then taken to a Nevada hospital has died, Mammoth Mountain officials said Saturday.

“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the Mammoth Mountain Ski Patroller, Claire Murphy, who was hospitalized last Friday passed away as a result of her injuries,” a statement from the mountain issued late Saturday. Feb. 22, said.

Murphy was doing avalanche mitigation with a team of ski patrollers on Lincoln Mountain — a dome peak within the Mammoth Mountain ski area — when an avalanche broke loose in an area known as The Avy Chutes on Friday, Feb. 14. The accident occurred after approximately six feet of snow fell in 36 hours following a heavy Sierra snowstorm.

Lincoln, which has steep chutes, rock bands and tree-skiing, was closed off to the public when the snow broke loose.

Murphy and another ski patroller were caught in the cascading snow. Numerous Mammoth Mountain ski patrollers were on site immediately to assist with rescue efforts, using beacon technology to locate the individuals, Mammoth officials said.

One patroller was recovered at the scene uninjured and Murphy — who mountain officials described as being in “serious” condition — was taken to Mammoth Hospital and later flown out to a Reno, Nevada trauma center.

The following day, on Saturday, Feb. 15, a post from the Mammoth Mountain Ski Patrol Alumni Association described her condition as “extremely” critical.

Since then, ski patrollers and those who previously worked the mountain have reached out to ask for support for her, her family, her boyfriend, and fellow Mammoth Mountain patrollers.

This week, patrollers from other resorts such as Bear Mountain, Snow Summit, Snow Valley, Alpine Meadows, Palisades at Tahoe and Winter Park Colorado, helped work the mountain.

No further information on Murphy’s injuries or where she is from has been released. There was also no information on when she died.

Mammoth Mountain is a popular resort in the Eastern Sierra that is about a six-hour drive from Orange County.

​ Orange County Register 

Troy girls water polo has tough day against San Dimas in Division 4 final

• February 22, 2025

WALNUT — Troy’s girls water polo team couldn’t overcome an early scoring barrage from San Dimas in the CIF-SS Division 4 championship game Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College.

The Saints, who were making their first appearance in a CIF-SS final, scored five goals in the first quarter and shut the Warriors out over the next three quarters for a 9-2 victory.

San Dimas led 7-2 at the half and the Saints’ defense made it nearly impossible for the Warriors to mount a comeback.

“I think San Dimas came out and they had a good scouting report because they anticipated a lot of our offense,” Troy coach Gary Cheever said. “I have a handful of girls that are really good at going one-on-one and creating space, holding inside water. San Dimas was aware and played heads-up defense and prevented those opportunities.”

Cheever was looking for the Warriors to come back, just as they had done in a 13-11 victory over Yucaipa in the semifinal round.

“We fought back and came back in that game,” said Cheever, who is in his second season as Troy’s coach. “In this one, we just couldn’t get things going again. I think that we were a little too rattled. I talked to them throughout the season of riding the highs and lows and kind of maintaining the emotions and in this one we didn’t do very well at that.”

With five minutes remaining in the first quarter, Faith Kearns of San Dimas scored the game’s first goal.

The Warriors responded right away, getting a goal from Anisha Aluwihare one minute later.

But then the Saints scored four goals in a row before Julia Machon scored the Warriors’ second and final goal with 22 seconds left in the quarter.

“We’ve got some really fast swimmers,” San Dimas coach Jessee Johnston said, “and every transition we get out, we get down and wide and we open up the middle and that opened up our middle for our guards.”

After the first period scoring surge, Troy held the Saints to two goals in each of the next two quarters and shut the Saints out in the fourth quarter.

“In the first quarter, we watched a lot,” Cheever said. “And San Dimas did a good job anticipating the transition. When you dig yourself a hole, and you’re down 7-1, it’s hard to come back.”

Troy was in a division final for the second year in a row under Cheever, who has guided the program to a remarkable turnaround after some dismal seasons.

The Warriors were defeated by Chaparral, 11-8, in the Division 5 final last season.

Troy finished 4-16 in the 2022-23 season and 2-21 in 2021-22.

After talking with the whole team, Cheever pulled the seniors aside to talk to them separately.

“They were a big part of the culture change,” Cheever said of the seniors. “They were a big part of us getting here and changing the reputation of what was going for the program.”

​ Orange County Register