As of this writing in January, the Eaton Fire is 56% contained, and the Palisades fire is about 80% contained. In a year that has begun with unprecedented destruction in LA county, it seems difficult to reconcile such catastrophic loss with our 2025 theme of celebration. The physical and mental toll on first responders, the thousands of people displaced from their homes, the thousands whose lives and livelihoods have been disrupted, and the tens of thousands of us who are stunned and heartbroken by what we helplessly witnessed, is immeasurable.

Humanity, however, has always experienced the comingling of joy and suffering. Celebration often includes the remembrance of loss, and signifies resilience and complexity. Key to celebration is its welcoming, communal quality that brings families, neighbors, strangers, and whole communities together, sharing both joy and sorrow.

In truth, in the midst of such devastation, there is much to celebrate in LA county. Despite unimaginable destructive forces traveling at hurricane speeds, injuries and loss of life could have been far worse. In its wake, individuals, grassroots movements, and community and professional groups have responded with generous and skilled outpourings of support, donations, and good will within and between neighborhoods.

Many LACPA members and sister agencies have collaborated in producing lists of resources, links to psychological first aid training, and opportunities for providing virtual and in-person service at various events and locations in the county. Please consult these updated resources, compiled by LACPA's Disaster Response committee, and organized and uploaded by our operations staff to our website, at https://www.lacpa.org/2025-wildfires. Financial donations, which currently prioritize assisting LACPA members affected by the fires can be made to the LACPA Foundation at https://www.lacpa.org/foundation-donate-link .

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LACPA will now be having its annual convention in the spring. This year, a celebratory conference on May 3rd will be held at the Woodland Hills Hilton from 9am to 3pm. Our keynote speaker, Laurel Mellin, Ph.D., a health psychologist and UCSF professor for over 40 years, has authored several books, one of which ("Wired for Joy") explains the basis of her emotional brain training. This resilience training technique is a neuro-informed process of identifying dysregulated emotional states, and returning us to a homeostatic state of which an expansive and clear-headed state of joy is a hallmark. After her presentation and experiential training, we will have a couple of hours in which to socialize, nosh, network, and generally enjoy each other's company.

In this bittersweet moment, it is my hope that LACPA continues to support the altruism and resolve of Angelinos, and uplift our many communities throughout this year and into later stages of the recovery process. Below is a new LACPA logo for 2025, marking our 80th anniversary. The joyful rays of a rising sun from our eastern foothills & mountains, shining over the county to the ocean bespeaks hope, regrowth, celebration and solidarity.