PASADENA Calif Fire survivors, health experts, and local leaders met in Pasadena on Saturday to speak out against the Trump administration’s climate policies, saying they weaken protections and make extreme weather more dangerous.
The “People’s Hearing on Extreme Weather,” organized by the Climate Action Campaign, brought together community members, environmental groups, and lawmakers. They criticized the Environmental Protection Agency for plans to roll back its 2009 decision that greenhouse gases are harmful to public health.
In a recorded message, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla said Los Angeles communities are already facing bad air and more deadly wildfires. “If they can’t admit climate change is real, how can they protect us?” he asked. Representatives Judy Chu and Laura Friedman also warned that recent EPA actions put lives at risk and ignore science.
Survivors of the Eaton and Palisades fires told their stories. Pasadena resident Rosanna Valverde said, “These disasters aren’t rare anymore they happen all the time.” Sam Stracich spoke about the long recovery after the fires, while Dennis Higgins warned that homes could “burn again” without strong protections.
Palisades High School student Sophie Smeeton said poor policies made wildfire damage worse, blaming a “denial of risk” and lack of urgency. Signs at the event read “people over polluters” and “stop EPA’s climate chaos,” showing the call for stronger climate action in California and across the country.
