For Our Neighbors: The Conservation Community in Los Angeles
Presentation Authors: Laleña Vellanoweth, Jen Kim and Kiernan Graves
Blogpost Summary by Sarah Ellison, LACMA Conservation Technician
The Los Angeles fires of 2025 threw our city into a whirlwind of fire, smoke, and ash. In seconds, communities lost homes, loved ones, and treasured belongings. Our familiar blue skies and palm-lined streets disappeared behind opaque orange and red smoke. Nearly everyone knew someone personally affected. Yet what defines Los Angeles is how quickly we show up for one another.
Trial by Fire: Reflections on Disaster Relief in the Aftermath of the 2025 Los Angeles Fires as an Emerging Conservation Professional
Presentation authors: Malaika Abramson
Blogpost Summary by Sarah Ellison, LACMA Conservation Technician
Malaika Abramson generously shared her personal conservation and preservation experience during the 2025 Los Angeles fires. She began with a moment none of us will forget, the morning hours of January 7, 2025, it was just the beginning . At that detail alone, the room seemed to lose its breath. We were instantly transported back to that morning.
Volunteer Perspective on Fire Recovery Clinic Experiences
Presentation authors: Ronel Namde and Elyse Driscoll
Blogpost Summary by Joelle Yang
In the aftermath of the Palisades, Eaton, and Altadena fires, there was no end in sight to the havoc that was wrecked. The task of recovery seemed overwhelming and insurmountable but nevertheless, LA conservators were quick to volunteer their knowledge and care to the objects that could be saved from the fires. Community conservation clinics were organized by Art Recovery LA (ARLA) and the LA County Department of Arts & Culture to assist anyone and everyone who had objects that sustained damage from the fires. The clinics offered free consultations, treatment, and housing for their clients’ objects. Having participated in all four of the clinics organized, photograph conservator Ronel Namde, and paper conservator Elyse Driscoll, shared their perspectives on how these conservation clinics could mend both an object and a community.
Smoke Remediation of Historic Family Photographs After the Eaton Fire: Treatment, Collaboration, and Community Impact
In January 2025, the Eaton fire had taken with it buildings that housed lifetimes of memories. While their house were no longer there, the remnants of a home could be parsed by a client of M Conservation, who was able to save a collection of photographs to be conserved. The collection included negatives and photos from the Ottoman Empire dating back to 1913,
the only surviving family portrait of relatives who perished, two surviving sisters, and images of the family in Beirut during the 1940s and 1950s. Having lost a previous home to a different fire, and not receiving adequate compensation from their insurance company, Madalyn Meehan and Lillian Liu of M conservation set out to conserve these photos and provide some reprieve for their client. This set forth a truly community oriented project that would support a Los Angeles resident, collaborate with fellow conservators, and enrich the education of a budding conservation professional.
The Eaton Fire’s Impact on The Huntington
Presentation authors: Christina O'Connell and Melissa Mariano
Blogpost Summary by Jennifer Ly
Christina O’Connell and Melissa Mariano shared the continued recovery work at The Huntington following the Eaton Fire. The fire began approximately 4.5 miles from the campus, with damage exacerbated by window and doorway gaps. Due to a window latch failure from the Santa Ana winds, the Huntington Art Gallery experienced the most damage from debris and particulates.
Tape, Boots and Fire Extinguishers: Protecting the Getty Villa from the Palisades Fire
Presentation authors: Les Borsay
Blogpost Summary by Kimi Taira, UCLA Library
Les Borsay, Senior Emergency Planning Specialist for the J. Paul Getty Trust, shared details of the Getty team’s response to the Palisades Fire at the Getty Villa. Through a combination of planning, luck, and teamwork, staff coordinated a successful defense alongside LAFD, resulting to limited damage of the property and collections.
From the Ashes: Preserving a New Period of Significance
Presentation authors: Catherine Sincich and Vanessa Muros
Blogpost Summary by Hannah Stahulak, Silverlake Conservation
Catherine Sincich and Vanessa Muros gave a thoughtful presentation about their experiences and discoveries at the Altadena Library Fire Clinic after the Eaton Fire. While cleaning objects at this clinic, Sincich and Muros were curious about the known heavy metals commonly encountered after a wildfire, and how effective current conservation cleaning methods are at reducing these toxic heavy metals.
Using pXRF To Assess the Efficacy of Three Treatments to Remove Toxic Heavy Metals from the Surface of Fire-Damaged Objects
Presentation authors: Kamila Korbela, Ruth del Fresno-Guillem and Katya Birukova
Blogpost Summary by Hannah Stahulak, Silverlake Conservation
Korbela spoke about her experiences in the aftermath of the Palisades and Eaton fires and the broad scope that a conservator can serve in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Her presentation focused on the concept of care and how conservation can be a relationship of art, people, and networks of care. While on the surface conservation work is about material preservation, there is also an emotional element behind every object and its story.
LA Fire Recovery. Where should the focus be? Caring Through Crisis: Conservation, Connection, and Resilience After the California Fires
Presentation authors: Kamila Korbela, Ruth del Fresno-Guillem and Katya Birukova
Blogpost Summary by Hannah Stahulak, Silverlake Conservation
Korbela spoke about her experiences in the aftermath of the Palisades and Eaton fires and the broad scope that a conservator can serve in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Her presentation focused on the concept of care and how conservation can be a relationship of art, people, and networks of care. While on the surface conservation work is about material preservation, there is also an emotional element behind every object and its story.
Lessons Learned at LAAC: Fire Remediation in Private Paper Conservation
Presentation authors: Madison Brockman and Erin Jue
Blogpost Summary by Jennifer Ly
Presented by Madison Brockman, the talk covered LAAC’s experiences in undertaking recovery projects for fire-damaged works on paper as a private practice. By sharing their professional strategies and findings, they hoped to not only share practical tips with the conservation community, but also encourage collaboration and ethical frameworks to empower fellow conservators in their own response efforts.
The Uncloaking and Destruction of a Mural at the Pasadena Jewish Temple Center
Presentation authors: Brandon Phoung, Kiernan Graves and Margalit Schindler
Blogpost Summary by Shannon Trono, Graduate Intern at Getty Conservation Institute 2025-2026
During the Eaton Fire, widespread destruction at the Pasadena Jewish Temple Center revealed an unexpected discovery: a previously unknown mural concealed beneath plaster on a surviving two-story brick wall. As much of the Center’s three buildings were lost, this lone double-brick wall—with painted surface exposed on its upper story—remained standing. Revealed unexpectedly by the fire, the mural was documented and fragments were recovered to allow for potential future study or conservation.
Observations and Treatments on Metals Recovered from the Palisades Fire
Presentation authors: Jennifer Kim and Rio Lopez
Blogpost Summary by Shannon Trono, Graduate Intern at Getty Conservation Institute 2025-2026
Jennifer Kim and Rio Lopez presented two case studies examining the treatment of metal artworks recovered from homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire. Their presentation focused on how conservation decisions were shaped by material condition, health and safety considerations, and dialogue with owners and artists, resulting in approaches tailored to each object’s circumstances.