Music Center to Host Free Event Featuring Immersive 3D Documentation of Eaton Fire Destruction

The Music Center in downtown Los Angeles will host a free public event this evening featuring immersive three-dimensional imagery of the Eaton Fire’s catastrophic aftermath.

The evening features work from Arizona State University’s Narrative and Emerging Media program, led by founding director Nonny de la Peña. The program’s journalists used a technology called Gaussian Splatting to create photorealistic 3D scenes that allow viewers to virtually walk through images of the destruction.

ASU graduate student and lead journalist Ashley Buschhorn led the team that captured the imagery.

“It was the chance to be one of the first on the scene and to be able to capture something in a way that other people weren’t,” Buschhorn told ASU News in April 2025. “That’s inherent coming from a journalist background—when breaking news happens, you just figure it out.”

De la Peña, who grew up in Altadena, described her reaction to viewing the documentation of her former neighborhood.

“And for me, I would have waves and waves of emotional reaction because it’s so unimaginable when you see the big landscape,” de la Peña told ASU News. “There were hundreds and hundreds of houses in the area where I grew up.”

The event is structured as an interactive experience rather than a seated presentation.

Visitors will explore VR stories, AR moments, and interactive reflection stations designed for community dialogue on displacement and climate resilience, according to the event description.

“The Music Center’s Innovation Social: Reflections on Loss, Hope and Renewal” runs from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles. The event is free and open to the public with RSVP required through The Music Center website, found here.

Parking is available at The Music Center Garage (135 N. Grand Ave., cash only) and the Walt Disney Concert Hall Garage (111 S. Grand Ave., cash and credit cards accepted). Public transit is encouraged; the Civic Center/Grand Park Station on the Metro B Line (Red) and D Line (Purple) is a short walk from the venue. For more information, call 213-972-0711 or visit www.musiccenter.org.