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How Trump’s federal funding and hiring freezes are Altadena grocery store reopens — leaving America vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire a symbol of Eaton Fire recovery By City News Service
By Mark Olalde, ProPublica This story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
A message of hope adorns the Altadena Grocery Outlet in January shortly after the devastating Eaton Fire. | Photo courtesy of Grocery Outlet (2270 Lake Ave., Altadena, CA)/Facebook
I Photo from Eaton Fire. | Photo courtesy of Cal Fire CC BY-NC 2.0
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resident Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts to shrink the federal government, launched as the deadly Palisades and Eaton fires burned across Los Angeles, have left the country’s wildland firefighting force unprepared for the rapidly approaching wildfire season. The administration has frozen funds, including money appropriated by Congress, and issued a deluge of orders eliminating federal employees, which has thrown
agencies tasked with battling blazes into disarray as individual offices and managers struggle to interpret the directives. The uncertainty has limited training and postponed work to reduce flammable vegetation in areas vulnerable to wildfire. It has also left some firefighters with little choice but to leave the force, their colleagues said. ProPublica spoke to a dozen firefighters and others who assist with the federal wildfire response across the
country and across agencies. They described a range of immediate impacts on a workforce that was already stressed by budgetary woes predating the Trump administration. Hiring of some seasonal workers has stalled. Money for partner nonprofits that assist with fuel-reduction projects has been frozen. And crews that had traveled to support prescribed burns in Florida were turned back, while those assisting with wildfire cleanup in California faced
confusion over how long they would be allowed to do that work. “Uncertainty is at an all-time high. Morale is at an all-time low,” one federal wildland firefighter said. Multiple federal employees asked not to be named because of their fear of retribution from the White House. In two separate lawsuits, judges issued temporary restraining orders against See Wildfire Page 06
n a major sign of recovery after the devastating Eaton Fire, an Altadena grocery store that has long served as a social hub in the community reopened Wednesday amid a sea of destruction. Altadena Grocery Outlet, which escaped major damage in the Eaton Fire despite the devastation around it, opened its doors to the public Wednesday morning at 2270 Lake Ave. In the weeks since the fire, the store -- adorned with a banner reading “Altadena Strong -- We Will Rebuild!” — has served as a centralized location for various relief efforts, including workers from the American Red Cross, ShelterBox USA, the county Department of Public Health and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “In many ways, it’s a banner day for our community, and a sign of hope for many residents who worry
that they’ll be forgotten. We’ve truly missed serving our customers,” Sandra Valenzuela, who owns the Grocery Outlet store along with her husband Jose, said in a statement in advance of the store opening. “Reopening will be bittersweet for us, as we know that so many in Altadena have experienced tremendous loss -- including five of our employees who lost their homes. We know that there will be tears, hugs, and many tales to be told as the community recovers and rebuilds. “We also know that our store is an anchor point for the community, so getting back to normal as quickly as possible is important for everyone,” Valenzuela said. “We feel fortunate, despite our own struggles, to be able to reopen — and we sincerely hope other Altadena businesses will be able to reopen See Reopening Page 27
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