Free childcare provides a safe haven for children affected by the LA fires

Screams of joy rang out on the playground at Eagle Rock Recreation Center. A group of 30 children gathered in groups according to a favorite breakfast.

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

“Cakes, pancakes!” they sang together urging others to join them.

There was a sense of normalcy among the children gathered at the recreation center, despite the turmoil in their families’ lives. A few miles away, thousands of Altadena homes, schools and businesses lay in ruins, ravaged by the Eaton fire.

The Eaton and Palisades fires destroyed at least 11 public and private schools and about 30 daycare centers – and thousands of families were left homeless due to the massive damage – more than 12,000 buildings were destroyed, including many homes.

Across Los Angeles County, many families whose lives have been disrupted by the fires are looking to keep their children organized and active and are turning to disaster relief camps including Project:Camp. In partnership with LA City Recreation and Parks, the camp offers free childcare during the fire disaster. The agency has responded to disasters across the country, including Hurricane Helene in North Carolina in 2024 and the Maui wildfires in 2023.

The organization has set up three camps in Los Angeles County, with plans to open more as needed. This week every LA camp filled up hours after registration opened.

Organizations like the Boys and Girls Club, YMCA and Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation also offer free childcare options. And some preschools, local businesses and families have taken it into their own hands to create respite care for children in this time of need.

“Young children especially, they rely on consistency in their lives to feel like everything is going well,” says psychologist Karen Rogers, of the National Center for School Disorders and Bereavement at Children’s Hospital LA “And if their school is gone, if they have to live in a different place, then that sense of prediction may end with them.”

Frances, 6, and Harriet, 9, rushed to hug their mother Anne Thornberg as she waited to pick them up at the Eagle Rock Recreation Center. Both girls spent the last few days playing games and sharing snippets of their experiences with other children as part of the Project: Trauma-information approach to care. St. John’s School Mark’s in Altadena, where they both attended, was destroyed by the Eaton fire.

“It’s hard to be 9 and 6 and be at home and feel like everything is uncertain,” Thornberg said, adding that many of her daughters’ friends have lost their homes.

Anne Thornberg picks up her daughters Frances, 6, left, and Harriett, 9, who attend Project:Camp, which provides free childcare for families affected by the fires, at the Eagle Rock Recreation Center on Jan. 15. Frances and Harriett School in St. Mark was burned in the Eaton fire.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

It’s the same for Michael Dodge, whose two children attend Altadena Arts Magnet, who learned it will be one of the last schools in Pasadena Unified to receive funding to reopen because it was destroyed by fire. He wants his 7- and 9-year-old children to be around other children and be able to maintain a sense of security through personal practice as he and his wife work, volunteer and support friends, many of whom have lost their homes.

“We’re trying to stick to a schedule,” said Dodge, who continues to take her kids to their regular dance and basketball activities after picking them up from camp, despite the disruption.

Setting up a framework with camps and other things can make children feel more comfortable when everything around them changes, said Rogers, who also advises local school programs affected by the fire. Knowing what’s coming up next throughout the day can make a big difference, he added.

Child care centers like Big and Tiny 10th Street Preschool in Santa Monica are also trying to contribute to the stability of families by providing free care to those displaced by the fires. Owner Keltse Bilbao made the first student to start on Wednesday, accompanied by his mother to ease the anxiety. He heard from 15 families who are interested in enrolling their children this month.

Meanwhile, her two daughters, whose school campus is always closed because it’s in an evacuation zone, chose to attend free camps in Santa Monica run by a local gym and taekwondo school instead of going to an online school. They wanted to feel normal, Bilbao said, explaining how they were looking forward to returning to their home in Brentwood after being out, even though there was no electricity. He hoped the camps would provide stability on top of that.

“For now, I’d rather keep them on something personal,” said Bilbao. “If next week we see that this is going to take a long time, we may have to connect them to Zoom, but I’m not crazy about that.”

After the fire at the private school her son attends, the Village School in Pacific Palisades, Nicki Hemmat said she and other parents are struggling with child care and how to keep the children occupied.

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

On Tuesday, a dozen children gathered on the playground and court at the Barrington Recreation Center for basketball. A sports coach, who had offered to babysit at a discounted rate, led the training as Hemmat and a few other parents shared stories of fire detection around picnic tables.

“Normal situations are good for these kids,” Hemmat said. “For a few days they were glued to their iPads. We wanted to get them out and move. And this way, their parents can have time to fill out any paperwork or applications they need, 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. For more information about this program and its charitable sponsors, visit latimes.com/earlyed.