Workers displaced by the Eaton Fire can walk into a free job fair Thursday, July 16, at the America's Job Center in Altadena. No appointment needed.

The Los Angeles County Department of Economic Opportunity runs the pop-up recruitment event every Thursday from 1 to 4 p.m. at 464 W. Woodbury Road, connecting fire survivors with job openings, career training, and support services. The program gives priority to workers whose employment was disrupted by the January 2025 wildfires and windstorms.

The effort, formally called the Fire Recovery and Resilience Workforce Program, is funded by a grant from California's Employment Development Department. As of February 2026, the program had helped more than 200 fire survivors find new employment, according to senior project manager Maritza Dubie-Uribe of the county's Department of Economic Opportunity. The current total is likely higher.

Among the success stories: Adriene McIver, a home care worker who lost her job after the Eaton Fire damaged her family's house, and Juan Bachelier, a video editor who lost all his Palisades-based clients overnight. Both were later hired by the county to work inside the One-Stop Permit Center in Altadena, helping other survivors navigate recovery.

"We aren't talking about bricks and mortar, we're talking about really reconnecting people's lives, because that's what life is about," Dubie-Uribe told CBS News.

The initial economic blow was severe. A California Policy Lab report released August 25, 2025, found that unemployment insurance claims in Los Angeles County jumped 12% to 17% in the weeks after the fires, representing 6,300 to 8,700 additional claims above normal levels. More than 5,200 workers filed federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance claims. The fires destroyed nearly 2,000 businesses employing over 7,500 workers directly, with low-wage industries hit hardest.

In October 2025, 8 in 10 Altadena residents surveyed by the nonprofit Department of Angels had not returned home, according to the Los Angeles Times. One in five households earning under $100,000 a year had cut back on food. More recent displacement figures were not available.

LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, whose 5th District includes Altadena, has urged affected workers and small-business owners to use the free services, calling the program "especially meaningful for Eaton Fire survivors" in a statement reported by Pasadena Now.

The pop-up fairs also run at other America's Job Center locations across LA County, so displaced workers who have relocated elsewhere in the county can still attend. For more information, call (888) 226-6300.