Free child care provides safe space for children affected by Los Angeles fires

Screams of joy echoed from the playground at Eagle Rock Recreation Center. 30 children huddled together in groups based on their favorite breakfast items.

“I like pancakes better than waffles,” one child declared.

“Pancakes, pancakes!” they chanted, beckoning others to join them.

Despite the upheaval in their family lives, the children gathered at the recreation center still had a sense of normalcy. A few miles away, thousands of Altadena homes, schools and businesses were reduced to rubble by the Eaton Fire.

The Eaton and Palisades fires destroyed at least 11 public and private schools and about 30 child care facilities, displaced thousands of families and destroyed more than 12,000 structures, including many homes.

Across Los Angeles County, many families whose lives have been upended by fires are seeking to maintain structure and routines for their children and are turning to disaster camps, including Project:Camp. The camp partners with Los Angeles City Recreation and Parks to provide free childcare during the fire crisis. The organization has responded to disasters across the country, including Hurricane Helene in North Carolina in 2024 and the Maui wildfires in 2023.

The organization has opened three camps in Los Angeles County and plans to open more as needed. This week, every Los Angeles campground was full within hours of opening registration.

Organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club, YMCA, and Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation also provide free child care. There are also other nurseries, local businesses and families who have set up their own temporary nurseries in this time of need.

“Young kids, especially, rely on perseverance in their lives to feel like everything is okay,” says Karen Rogers, a clinical psychologist at the National School Crisis and Bereavement Center at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “They have to live in different places, so they The predictability will disappear.

Frances, 6, and Harriet, 9, rushed to hug their mum Anne Thornberg as she waited to be picked up from Eagle Rock Leisure Centre. Over the past few days, both girls have been playing games and sharing snippets of their experiences with other children as part of Project:Camp’s trauma-informed care approach. St. Mark’s School in Altadena, where they both attended, was destroyed by the Eaton Fire.

“At nine and six years old, it’s hard to come home and feel like everything is uncertain,” Thornburg said, adding that many of her daughter’s friends have lost their homes.

Anne Thornberg picks up her daughters Frances, left, 6, and Harriett, 9, as they attend “Project: Camp” at Eagle Rock Recreation Center on Jan. 15. event, which provides free child care to families affected by the fires.

(Gina Ferrazzi/Los Angeles Times)

The same was true for Michael Dodge, whose two children attend Altadena Arts Magnet, which he learned would be the last within the Pasadena Unified School District One of the schools receiving support for reopening because it had been damaged by fire. He wants his children, ages 7 and 9, to be able to be with other children and stay safe through in-person daily activities while he and his wife work, volunteer and support friends, many of whom have lost their homes.

“We try to stick to our daily routine,” said Dodge, who continued taking his children to their usual dance and basketball activities after picking them up from camp despite the disruption.

Creating structure through camps and other activities can help kids feel more comfortable as everything changes around them, said Rogers, who also advises local school systems affected by the fires. Knowing what’s coming next in the day can make a big difference, she adds.

Child care centers such as Big and Tiny 10th Street Preschool in Santa Monica are also working to provide free care to those displaced by the fires and contribute to family stability. Owner Keltse Bilbao had her first student start class on Wednesday with her mother to help ease her anxiety. She received letters from 15 families interested in enrolling their children this month.

Meanwhile, her own two daughters have chosen to attend free camps in Santa Monica run by local gymnastics centers and taekwondo schools rather than attend school online. Bilbao said they longed for a sense of normalcy, explaining that they were eager to return home to Brentwood after the evacuation, despite the lack of power. She hopes the camps will provide stability among other things.

“At this point, I’d rather have them do some things themselves,” Bilbao said. “If we find out next week that this is taking a long time, we may have to connect them to Zoom, but I’m not obsessed with that.”

Nicki Hemmat said she and other parents are grappling with childcare and how to keep their kids busy after the private school her son attended, Village School in Pacific Palisades, burned down encountered difficulties.

Hemat, who lives in Brentwood but is not in the evacuation zone, ended up organizing daily “camps” this week for her son and other children from damaged or closed elementary schools in and around the Palisades.

On Tuesday, a dozen kids gathered on the playground and field at the Barrington Recreation Center to play basketball. An athletic trainer, who offered to supervise the children at a deeply discounted rate, led them through drills while Hemat and several other parents swapped stories of fire recovery at a picnic table.

“A normal life is good for these kids,” Hemat said. “For a few days there, they only had access to iPads. We wanted to get them out and moved. That way, their parents could have some time to fill out any paperwork or applications they needed, just like FEMA.

This article is part of The Times’ early childhood education program, which focuses on the learning and development of California children from birth to age 5. latimes.com/earlyed.