Altadena Petition Demands Environmental Testing at Arts Magnet School After Eaton Fire

More than 300 Altadena residents have signed a petition calling on the Pasadena Unified School District to conduct comprehensive environmental testing and remediation at Altadena Arts Magnet Elementary School, after the destructive Eaton Fire tore through nearby residential and commercial properties.

The school’s Calaveras Street campus lies within 250 yards of more than 75 structures destroyed in the blaze, including several businesses—such as laundromats and grocery stores—known to release hazardous chemicals when burned. While the District has performed some limited surface testing for ash and soot, petitioners argue that no meaningful indoor environmental testing has been completed, raising serious concerns about student and staff safety.

The petition urges the District to hire a Certified Industrial Hygienist to conduct full-spectrum testing for contaminants often found after urban wildfires. These include substances like asbestos, lead, and dioxins, as well as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. PFAS are a group of human-made chemicals commonly found in industrial products such as fire retardants, nonstick cookware, and certain fabrics. They are often referred to as “forever chemicals” because they do not easily break down in the environment or the human body. Exposure to PFAS has been linked to cancer, developmental delays in children, and immune system disruption.

The petition also calls for testing of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. VOCs are airborne chemicals that are emitted by burning plastics, solvents, and other building materials. In enclosed spaces like classrooms, high levels of VOCs can cause respiratory irritation, neurological issues, and long-term health effects.

Beyond testing, community members are requesting the installation of a commercial-grade indoor air monitor to continuously measure VOC levels on campus. They are also demanding the replacement of porous classroom furnishings—such as carpet, fabric blinds, acoustic tiles, and upholstered furniture—that can trap and retain toxic particles long after a fire. Petitioners say those materials cannot be fully cleaned and pose an ongoing risk.

Heather, a parent in the District who lives just outside the burn zone, expressed concern about the lack of action.

“We live just outside the burn zone with two young children and have done thorough testing and remediation of our property inside and out prior to returning home,” she said. “We are districted for Altadena Arts Magnet in the near future for our children but without the assurance that it has also been tested and thoroughly remediated, we will be forced to petition to send our children to a different school.

Heather said her family hoped normalcy would be restored back in their lives of families with children that attend the school which allow families to be “confident that they are not sending their children to a school that will expose them to cancer-causing contamination and developmental problems.”

In addition to demanding thorough testing and remediation at the Calaveras campus, the petition calls for an environmental inspection of the school’s temporary location at Allendale Elementary. This includes screening for hazards such as lead-based paint, with remediation to be completed before the start of the next academic year.

Supporters frame the petition as an issue of health equity. Altadena Arts Magnet is a Title I school where 63 percent of students are socioeconomically disadvantaged. Petitioners argue that less-resourced school communities should receive the same level of protection as more affluent ones.

They point to Canyon Charter Elementary in the Los Angeles Unified School District, which underwent comprehensive post-fire testing despite being farther from the burn zone. Advocates say Pasadena Unified should meet or exceed that standard.

“Comprehensive testing after a wildfire should not be viewed as an optional benefit afforded to more resourced or privileged school communities—it should be a baseline standard of care for all children, especially those who may be more vulnerable to environmental harms,” the petition states.