Civil engineer (structural) Ian Buchanan performs a hammer test inside a fire damaged doorway at the Eliot Arts Magnet Academy in Altadena, California. For this test a ringing sound means the structural integrity of the cement is likely still there, and a loud dull thud means it likely has sustained moderate to heavy damage. The Southern California wildfires of January 2025 left much of the school heavily damaged, April 15. USACE is working in partnership with local, state and the Federal Emergency Management Agency in response to the Southern California Wildfires.