The California Public Utilities Commission has received video and data evidence strongly suggesting that high-voltage transmission lines operated by the electric power company Southern California Edison were responsible for igniting the Eaton fire, which killed 17 people last month as it swept through the historically Black neighborhood of Altadena, destroying 9,400 homes, schools, businesses and other structures.

On Thursday, mourners gathered at First AME Church of Pasadena for a memorial service honoring fire victims. Community members and civil rights leaders are demanding the same federal resources for recovery that L.A.'s most affluent neighborhoods are receiving. They're also warning against shortchanging by insurance companies. Joining the call is Zaire Calvin, who became separated from his sister Evelyn McClendon on January 9 as he evacuated the fire with his baby and elderly mother. He returned to find his sister’s remains in the rubble of her home.

Zaire Calvin: “We want to be made whole. Black people always end up last. I’m just going to say it now: We always end up last. Can we just be first in line in this?”

This week, the insurance giant State Farm has asked California regulators to approve a rate hike that would see the average homeowner pay 22% more for their premiums. In 2023, State Farm said it would no longer accept new applications for property insurance in California. Last year, it cut 72,000 home and apartment policies across the state, citing inflation and “catastrophe exposure.”