A high school football showdown fit for Paradise

Communities recovering from hellacious firestorms in California confront an abundance of challenges, perhaps none more important than this one: Being remembered by people outside of the burn zones, by charities and by government, long after the flames are out.

Nearly seven years after the Camp fire incinerated most of Paradise, Calif., and the surrounding area, the community has devised a new way of remembering: by playing football. Even better, by playing football with another community that insists it also mustn’t be forgotten — Lahaina, Hawaii, a town leveled by its own blaze just two years ago.

Paradise High School athletic director Jerry Cleek called the other day to tell me that his school’s Bobcats would be traveling to the 50th state to play against Lahainaluna High School. They haven’t named the game, but they might call it the Fire Survivors Bowl or maybe the Resiliency Bowl. …

“Maybe what this will do is remind people to look out for each other,” said Cleek, who I first met when he coached the postfire Paradise High boys basketball team to an incredible season. “If all of us have heart and think about it, look what we can do; we can help other people.”

Cleek first conceived the idea more than a year ago. But back then, Lahaina — with 102 dead and more than 2,200 homes and other buildings wiped away — was still too overwhelmed by the crisis. Early this year, the schools resumed the conversation and soon agreed on a Paradise High game against Lahainaluna next season. “We hope this provides a sense of attention and relevance to what happened in Paradise and what’s happening here,” said Jon Conrad, the athletic director at Lahainaluna. “And we hope to get some unity and bonding between two towns that have been through a lot of the same things.”

Lahainaluna High School football players get ready in the locker room at Sue D. Cooley Stadium on Oct. 21, 2023, in Lahaina, Hawaii.

(Mengshin Lin / Associated Press)

If all goes according to plan, Lahainaluna will return the favor and travel to Paradise in 2027 for a game. Though Conrad told me there are challenges to pulling that off, since it would require the Hawaiian students to miss a week of school. (Maui’s school year begins earlier.)

For now, the two schools look forward to the 2026 showdown and the chance to be seen. And Paradise has begun raising money for the long trip West.

Emotions remain particularly raw for many in Lahaina, Maui, which commemorated the two-year anniversary of the fire on Aug. 8. Only 45 homes had been rebuilt by that date, with another 450 building permits issued and more than 300 others being processed by Maui County, Hawaii Public Radio reported.

Almost five years further into its reconstruction, Paradise has the greatest housing unit growth in the state from 2024 to 2025, but its population of 11,088 is still less than half of the prefire total of more than 26,000. Immediately after the Lahaina fire, Paradise High students and staff designed and wore T-shirts that read, “From One Paradise to Another — Ho’ihi.” The latter is a “Hawaiian word meaning respect for the island, its people, and one another,” said Christina Voigt, co-principal at Paradise High.

The two schools have a rich football tradition. Lahainaluna is a perennial winner, including state championships in the last decade. Paradise went on an inspirational win streak immediately after the fire, but has struggled in recent years.

Voight said she is excited for the matchup and something bigger: “These games are about more than football — they’re about resilience, respect and the power of community,” she said. “We hope they inspire both towns and forge bonds that last a lifetime.”

Today’s top stories

Head Start programs, like this one in Pasadena, provides tens of thousands of children in the state with early education, healthcare and nutritional support.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Trump’s ban on immigrant benefits will have ‘chilling’ effects

• If the Trump administration succeeds in barring undocumented immigrants from “public benefit” programs, vulnerable children and Californian families will suffer.
• California alleges the restrictions would harm immigrants and U.S. citizens alike, including children of immigrants and the homeless and mentally ill.
• The Trump administration defended the ban as protecting resources for American taxpayers.

Central Valley homeowners are watching property values sink with the land

• Homes in large portions of California’s Central Valley have been sinking, as have roads, bridges, canals and levees, as too much water is drawn out of underground aquifers.
• Now researchers at UC Riverside have found that home sale prices are 2.4% to 5.4% lower than they would be if the land were stable, translating to per-home losses of $6,689 to $16,165.

They led police on a wild L.A. car chase, then managed to get away. Who helped them escape?

• Authorities say two suspects carjacked a truck in Lancaster on Sunday and opened fire on its owner before the police gave chase.
• In the hours that followed, they stole two more vehicles before ending up in a Chevrolet Silverado under a freeway overpass in Boyle Heights, shielded from the police and TV helicopters overhead.
• The two suspects appear to have escaped in another car with the help of accomplices, according to law enforcement sources. Three days later, they are still at large.

What else is going on

• Homeless people in detention camps? Fears grow about Trump and the Olympics.
• Gangsters trafficked runaways and foster kids for sex in South L.A., according to prosecutors.
• A new map shows that California has more cattle feedlots than any state. Here’s why that matters.
• California’s burger wars heat up as Habit Burger & Grill trolls In-N-Out with a new billboard.
• “South Park” is having its best ratings in years. Thank Trump and Kristi Noem spoofs.
• 3,500 birds have to be euthanized following a massive SoCal cockfighting bust, officials say.

Commentary and opinions

• Donald Trump makes America worse than tacky, argues columnist Jackie Calmes.
• Can homegrown teens replace immigrant farm labor? In 1965, the U.S. tried, writes columnist Gustavo Arellano.
• Columnist Anita Chabria asks a high-stakes question: Will Newsom’s ambitions save UCLA from giving in to Trump?
• The heat-safety law isn’t enough. Farmworkers are still dying every summer, writes guest contributor Dean Florez.

This morning’s must reads

California

The fliers say ‘Save Our Services.’ Airbnb is actually pulling the strings

Supporters of the plan say it could generate about $80 million in tax revenue annually, especially as tourists descend on Los Angeles for the 2026 World Cup, 2027 Super Bowl, and 2028 Olympics.

Aug. 13, 2025

Other must reads

• Shaquille O’Neal talks about abusing painkillers, his regrets and his fragile kidneys.
• Accessories are opportunities for experimentation and self-expression. Take some of these notes from stylist Kaamilah Thomas.
• John Outterbridge’s daughter salvaged found art from Altadena ruins — with help from his friends.
• L.A. jazz legend Bobby Bradford lost his Altadena home to wildfire. At 91, music is “all I have left.”

For your downtime

A time-lapse exposure at Joshua Tree National Park shows star trails in the northern sky in June 2020.

(Raul Roa / Los Angeles Times)

Going out

• Nature: When it comes to watching shooting stars, oddsmakers say California is your best bet.
• Dining: A fire on Tuesday has forced Beverly Hills pasta palace Funke to temporarily close.

Staying in

• Art history: In a new streaming series, L.A.’s rebel architects — now elders — revisited the norm-busting Venice Beach art scene.
• Television: Here’s why a streamer beloved by fans of British TV is turning to big U.S. stars.
• Music: The Hispanic Heritage Foundation announced Puerto Rican pop visionary Rauw Alejandro will receive a Hispanic Heritage award — and he made a little announcement of his own.
• Recipes: Here’s a recipe for coconut raspado with jammy plums.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

A question for you: As summer heat takes over SoCal, what’s your favorite way to stay cool?

Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.

And finally ... from our archives

The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will be a key venue for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

On Aug. 14, 2004, the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad opened in Athens in a return to the birthplace of the Olympics. As Los Angeles is gearing up to host the 2028 Olympics, organizers hope it presents a “refreshed global image of California” — but with recent immigration raids and uncertainty surrounding the role President Trump will play, that hope is thrown into limbo.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Diamy Wang, homepage intern
Izzy Nunes, audience intern
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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