LOS ANGELES (March 7, 2025) – Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation (LA County Parks), with the generous support of Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, multiple Los Angeles County Departments, and philanthropic and community partners, announced plans to reopen Loma Alta Park in May after it was damaged from the Eaton Fire, and since closed. This reopening will go beyond just rebuilding what was lost, but also enhance and expand current facilities, and add new resources.

“Under normal circumstances, for LA County Parks to build a new park, it takes roughly 18 months, but due to the expedient measures taken by both the State of California, County of Los Angeles, and the tireless efforts of countless LA County staff, our partners, and volunteers, that timeline has shrunk to merely 2 months,” said Norma E. García-González, Director of LA County Parks at a Wednesday ceremony at Loma Alta Park. “The people devastated by the Eaton Fire need their community back, and LA County will heed the call. I am heartened to see how much support we’ve already received.”

The following support was announced:

• Fire Aid, the extraordinary January 30 benefit concert in Los Angeles that raised money from donors around the world, announced a grant of $2.4 million. This grant will help the park rebuild the fire-damaged playgrounds and also bring them back bigger and better, expanding the features and accessibility of all playground elements.
• With neighborhoods devastated by the fire, and families displaced, Altadena residents needed a place to congregate with their community. Identifying this need for social connections, Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger announced she would fund Alta Chat – a new meeting place and ‘hub’ for the community to relax and connect. This beautiful new space at Loma Alta Park will feature comfortable Adirondack chairs and other amenities to inspire a much needed lost neighborhood connection.
• Nichol Whiteman, CEO of the Dodgers Foundation, announced funding for two Dodgers Dream Fields, plus baseball and softball programming, making sure that the Central Altadena Little League will play their last games at home in Loma Alta Park. All profits from the Dodgers opening day and World Series Ring Ceremony games will go toward funding these projects and will be heavily advertised for those games.
• The Los Angeles Clippers, through their Community Clippers Court program, will fund a makeover of the gym and its courts, and will offer the Junior Clippers Basketball Program for Altadena youth.

When it does reopen, Loma Alta – the first of Altadena’s county parks to reopen – will be a “super park” with additional new services:

• After Altadena’s senior center burned in the fire, LA County Parks will partner with Los Angeles County Department of Aging and Disabilities to create a satellite senior center at Loma Alta Park.
• In partnership with Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Office for Advancement of Early Care and Education (OAECE), LA County Parks will provide 100 after-school slots for children ages 5-12, and in the summertime, the program will run all day. The OAECE will also provide 25 slots for children ages 3-4, a Tiny Tots program. After the Eaton Fire, 2,802 early childhood education licensed spaces were lost, 34 early childhood education licensed facilities destroyed, and 4 facilities damaged. Supporting families and children after the Eaton Fire with child care continues to be a priority for LA County Parks after the department ran its Care Camps.
• In partnership with Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity, LA County Parks will provide 25 Altadena youth employment through the Youth@Work program.
• In partnership with the Altadena Library District, Loma Alta Park will host a satellite Altadena library with an array of programming for children, families, and seniors.
• The Altadena Rotary Club previously held their annual Altadena summer concert series at Farnsworth Park. With Farnsworth Park’s extensive damage, especially to the Davies Building, a structure on the National Register of Historic Places, the Altadena Rotary Club has announced it is moving their concert series to Loma Alta Park.

Norma E. García-González also announced that the community can play a pivotal role in reopening Loma Alta with volunteer days every Saturday in April to replant, clean and repaint the park. With the help of partners at Tree People and Los Angeles Conservation Corps, instead of “Earth Day” April will be “Earth Month” to focus on the rejuvenation of Loma Alta Park, and rebuilding of the Altadena Community Garden. To sign up, please follow the link: bit.ly/3QIsyxK.

Metabolic Studio will provide new, clean soil for the community garden, after the removal of six inches of topsoil. A coalition of Rotary Clubs from across Southern California has also pledged $10,000 for volunteer meals during the April Saturday repair and rehabilitation days.

The rebirth of Loma Alta Park will also feature local artists and muralists that, through their art, vision and expression, will breathe beauty into the site. With the commissioning of works by Victor Ving and Eric Junker, LA County Parks will commemorate the resilience of Altadena and its people.

“Reopening by May 10 is ambitious, but to effectively serve the community in its time of need, LA County Parks and its partners realize the need to be bold”, said García-González.  “Local leaders, philanthropic and community partners, and LA County Parks are inspired by the residents of the greater Altadena area to do more and go big. Reopening Loma Alta Park can help strengthen the community as it also seeks to rebuild.”