![\"Survivors](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/PAS-L-DEARNEWSOM-0725-10.jpg\")
Survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires gathered for a press conference and then wrote post cards to Governor Gavin Newsom objecting to a bailout of utilities on July 24, 2026 in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)<\/p>\n
State Sen. Sasha Ren\u00e9e P\u00e9rez <\/a>first heard the rumors in late July. Constituents were calling to ask: Was Gov. Gavin Newsom holding secret, closed-door discussions to pass a wildfire liability bill?<\/p>\n The timing was crucial. With weeks left in the legislative session, and no firm information on what was in the governor\u2019s proposal, a wide-ranging group of Altadena fire survivors gathered.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we found out that the governor was working with the utilities on changes that would affect not only how the utilities were held accountable, but also how wildfire survivors would be compensated\u2014and survivors weren\u2019t at the table\u2014we knew we had to move quickly,\u201d said Shamica Gaskins, a lawyer, writer, fire survivor and activist with Dena Rise Up. \u201cIt was imperative that we get the word out and demand a seat at the table.\u201d<\/p>\n The survivors sounded the alarm, said Joy Chen, executive director of Every Fire Survivor\u2019s Network<\/a> (EFSN), which held a press conference in July to launch DearNewsom.org<\/a>, a postcard writing campaign.<\/p>\n That Altadenans succeeded in shaping major points in the proposal is one of the wins Eaton fire survivors are counting when P\u00e9rez and the Dena Rise Up coalition gather at Loma Alta Park gym on Sunday.<\/p>\n Being together has been a strength fire survivors have honed since the Eaton fire decimated their town, killing 19 in the immediate aftermath and leaving thousands to manage rebuilding their lives.<\/p>\n Call it collective action, or people power, Altadenans who descended on Sacramento<\/a> to lobby for a slate of wildfire bills are \u201ceveryday people who believed we could turn our grief and determination into real resources for our community,\u201d Gaskins said. \u201cThis victory belongs to the community, and it is a reminder of what we can accomplish when we organize together.\u201d<\/p>\n For P\u00e9rez, seeing more than 250 Altadenans at the state capital in two weeks, in a space more often populated by the like of paid lobbyists, was powerful.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that the people of Altadena did a tremendous job organizing,\u201d Perez said. \u201cThey honestly showcased a masterclass on how it\u2019s done, diverse community groups coming together creating a single ask and working together in partnership\u00a0 to communicate that to various members of the Legislature.\u201d<\/p>\n Outside the Pasadena Job Center Kailen Timbadia, 18, speaks to the press about lescaping the fire with a disabled mother and loosing their family home before heading on a charter bus with other Eaton fire survivors to Sacramento to demand a rescue plan for Altadena and Pasadena\u2019s recovery on Monday, May 18, 2026. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n Aurora Barboza writes a postcard do the Governor. Survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires gathered for a press conference and then wrote post cards to Governor Gavin Newsom objecting to a bailout of utilities on July 24, 2026 in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n Joy Chen, Executive Director of Every Fire Survivor\u2019s Network speaks. Survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires gathered for a press conference and then wrote post cards to Governor Gavin Newsom objecting to a bailout of utilities on July 24, 2026 in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n Brian Gardner and Karine Ceyhan lost their home in the fire. Survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires gathered for a press conference and then wrote post cards to Governor Gavin Newsom objecting to a bailout of utilities on July 24, 2026 in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n Pastor Anthony McFarland speaks. Survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires gathered for a press conference and then wrote post cards to Governor Gavin Newsom objecting to a bailout of utilities on July 24, 2026 in Pasadena, CA. (Photo by John McCoy, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n Outside the Pasadena Job Center Juan Ruiz says goodbye to his wife Esther and daughters Naomi, 14, and Monahmi, 13, before they depart of a charter bus with other Eaton fire survivors to Sacramento to demand a rescue plan for Altadena and Pasadena\u2019s recovery on Monday, May 18, 2026. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n Shimica Gaskins speaks during the Altadena For Accountability press conference at 425 E. Las Flores in Altadena on Feb. 12, 2026. (Photo by Connor Terry, Contributing Photographer)\n<\/p>\n Gov. Gavin Newsom signed four bills into law on Tuesday, Sept. 15, in Altadena. The new legislation expands mortgage protections, strengthens insurance coverage, and sets first-in-the-nation standards for testing and remediating wildfire contamination. Front row, from left, Jane Lawton Potelle of Eaton Fire Residents United; Supervisor Kathryn Barger; Newsom; Assemblymember John Harabedian, D-Pasadena; Nic Arnzen, chair of the Altadena Town Council, and state Sen. Sasha Renee Perez. (Courtesy, The Office of the California Governor)\n<\/p>\n Show Caption<\/p>\n 1 of 8<\/p>\n Outside the Pasadena Job Center Kailen Timbadia, 18, speaks to the press about lescaping the fire with a disabled mother and loosing their family home before heading on a charter bus with other Eaton fire survivors to Sacramento to demand a rescue plan for Altadena and Pasadena\u2019s recovery on Monday, May 18, 2026. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n Expand<\/a> Even before Newsom\u2019s last-minute proposal<\/a>, Chen said fire survivors were already flying in small groups to Sacramento to lobby for wildfire legislation.<\/p>\n On May 18, the first busload of fire survivors, an all-ages, and backgrounds crowd of about 50 constituents, got a baptism by fire in media training and lobbying from organizers from Dena Rise Up, CHIRLA, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, and NDLON, the National Day Laborer Organizing Network.<\/p>\n Kai Timbadia, 18, fresh off his high school graduation, joined that first bus mission, finding himself one of the youngest Altadenans on the trip. The 384 mile drive made an extended family of survivors, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen a group shares collaboration, collectivization, and trauma, shyness doesn\u2019t last long,\u201d he added. \u201cWithin the last hour of our bus ride, the entire bus was singing and sharing their hopes for our rebuilding community.\u201d<\/p>\n In Sacramento, the political newbies organized themselves into lobby groups and started strategizing how to approach different senate members. Timbadia was asked to speak about losing his family home, the displacement post-fire, and his having to serves as caretaker for his mother and sister, who are disabled. It would be his first time sharing his family\u2019s story publicly.<\/p>\n \u201cI worked on my paper late into the night, trying to capture the experience Altadena families had as a whole, using my family\u2019s one story as a vignette of the larger community struggles,\u201d Timbadia said. \u201cThe next day, speaking out from the Governor\u2019s Press Room, I thought I would be nervous again. I wasn\u2019t. I was surrounded by people I\u2019d known less than 24 hours ago, yet I felt like I\u2019d known them for months. The outpouring of support I felt in the room made speaking at the podium feel much easier.\u201d<\/p>\n On the bus ride back home, Timbadia said it was hard to imagine everyone had only met 24 hours before.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone was mixed up, laughing, talking, watching the Knicks\u2019 playoff game,\u201d he remembered. \u201cI always like to say that in those 36 hours, Altadena grew for me. Strangers were now friends.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to DearNewsom.org, more than 4,700 Americans and organizations representing 3.5 million people signed the postcard campaign. Members of ESFN, Dena Rise Up, Eaton Fire Collaborative, Altadena Rising, My Tribe Rise, Beautiful Altadena, the NAACP, Project Passion, POP! or Pasadenans Organizing for Progress called legislators, posted their thoughts to social media.<\/p>\n But it was the bus ride of Aug. 24-25 that took people power to the next level. Their assignment: convince lawmakers not to cave to utilities\u2019 demand to limit payouts, pain-and-suffering claims, and attorney fees.<\/p>\n Part of that collective organizing allowed Gaskins to stay behind so she could spend time with her two children before school started, a mindful choice fire survivors say is vital to their recovery. She helped set up meetings at the Capitol with key decision-makers and monitored events and posts online.<\/p>\n Once in Sacramento, the group discovered a group presenting themselves as speaking for fire survivors and shaping the narrative. Wildfire Victims First was funded by the three major investor-owned utilities and while its roster included local chambers, business associations, and local government groups, they weren\u2019t actually representing the people who lived through the fires.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was so much confusion and, frankly, deception around what was happening that we knew we had to drop everything and make sure our community\u2014the people who had experienced some of the most horrific losses imaginable\u2014was there and had a voice,\u201d Gaskins said.<\/p>\n On Aug. 24, about 50 survivors then found out Newsom was holding an end of session gathering at the Governor\u2019s Mansion and decided to join the festivities outside.<\/p>\n Holding signs (\u201cNo utility bailout!\u201d and \u201cStand with Real Fire Survivors!\u201d) the Altadena contingent happily welcomed legislators as they arrived. The media called it a protest.<\/p>\n It was, Chen said, \u201cthe pinnacle and highlight of our 21 months of survivors\u2019 advocacy, this welcome party we hosted in front of the People\u2019s Mansion.\u201d<\/p>\n The group also impressed Sacramento regulars with their success working with what Chen called their \u201cremarkable, strange-bedfellows coalition\u201d of real fire survivors, Consumer Watchdog and insurance companies.<\/p>\n They also called on more creative powers. The Altadena artist known as Keni Arts, 75, completed six paintings during the two-day trip: depicting the Capitol, and fire survivors in lobbying-mode around town. He also painted the scene when sign-toting survivors greeted lawmakers rolling up to the Governor\u2019s Mansion.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw firsthand by visiting legislator\u2019s offices how direct contact can make a big difference,\u201d he said. \u201cI experienced the strength of community as we worked together for the good of all Altadena and future disaster victims.\u201d<\/p>\n His watercolors, shared online and later in a thank you card sent to legislators, turned art into testimony and gentle persuasion.<\/p>\n The Altadena contingent were back home when the whirlwind 2026 legislative session ended<\/a>. Late-night negotiations<\/a> led to an early-morning publication on Saturday, Aug. 29 of a 96-page proposal Newsom himself called inadequate<\/a>.<\/p>\n On Sept. 1, the bill, criticized in a letter by Southern California Edison<\/a>, PG&E and San Diego Gas & Electric, died in the Assembly without a vote. What it would and would not have changed, was tabled for a new Legislation and governor.<\/p>\n Savoring the wins<\/p>\n Here are what Gaskins said Eaton fire survivors earned together: they stopped a utility bailout<\/a>, won $15 million for the CARE Fund, passed important policies to protect Altadena from speculative development<\/a>, and established science-based standards<\/a> for remediation so that insurance companies can\u2019t keep playing games and children and families can safely return to their homes.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to celebrate because none of this would have happened without Altadena,\u201d she said. \u201cThese victories came from people who were grieving, rebuilding, working, raising families\u2014and still finding the courage to organize and demand something better. That\u2019s extraordinary.\u201d<\/p>\n The $15 million Community Aid for Rebuilding and Equity (CARE) Fund will help struggling homeowners with rebuilding costs and to build affordable housing for displaced Altadena tenants, P\u00e9rez said. The California Community Foundation will administer it.<\/p>\n And while further challenges remain on the horizon, P\u00e9rez, Chen, Gaskins and other community leaders recognize joy is part of healing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have spent nearly two years fighting, grieving, rebuilding, and carrying an enormous amount of uncertainty,\u201d Gaskins said. \u201cWe cannot make struggle the only way we know how to be together. We deserve moments of joy. We deserve to see each other, laugh together, dance, and remember that we are more than what happened to us.<\/p>\n Joy doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019ve forgotten what we\u2019ve lost or that the work is finished. It means we\u2019re still here. And right now, we need that more than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n For 18-year-old Timbadia, activism Altadena-style has taught him that effecting change often feels impossible when done in isolation.<\/p>\n \u201cIn community, the weight isn\u2019t yours to carry alone, and what felt impossible suddenly comes within reach,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n For Gaskins, it\u2019s part of being an Altadenan.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you live in Altadena, even before the fire, there is an inherent spirit of not giving up,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is a refusal to simply accept the status quo and a belief that we can demand something better. On the days when it felt like too much, I drew from the collective strength of my community. I wasn\u2019t doing this alone. The courage and determination I saw in other survivors reminded me to keep going, too.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires gathered for a press conference and then wrote post cards to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":498742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[5759,7,4300,137,100,1977,121,123,122,5760,136],"class_list":["post-498741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-altadena","tag-california","tag-eaton-fire","tag-los-angeles-county","tag-news","tag-pasadena","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news","tag-san-gabriel-valley","tag-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=498741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/498741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/498742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=498741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=498741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=498741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Outside](\"https:\/\/www.pasadenastarnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/PAS-L-FIRE-SACRAMENTO-03-SR.jpg?w=620\")
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\nPeople Power on wheels<\/p>\n