It is a slow process.
The community of Altadena is gradually recovering from the Eaton Fire.
Residents and businesses continue to face the aftermath of the devastating January fire, many finding their home insurance policies inadequate to replace what they’ve lost and many joining lawsuits against possible responsible parties. Their lives have been turned upside down.
Last weekend, during Los Angeles Opera’s public broadcast of “West Side Story,” Diselma Guzman worked at a food booth for a restaurant that is still standing in Altadena, but struggling to regain customers.
“Events like this are incredibly helpful,” said Guzman – her apartment building where she lived with her family was destroyed in the Eaton Canyon neighborhood fire. She also found herself unemployed at the restaurant where she worked. Nancy’s Greek Cafe survived the blaze but was unable to reopen for months due to a lack of water and electricity.
“We’re here to tell everyone that our restaurant has reopened its doors,” Guzman said, pointing to the large audience congregated at the park to watch the performance on a large screen broadcast live from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.
Opera in the Park, at the Beach
More than 2,000 attended the Saturday livestreaming of “West Side Story” from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at downtown’s Music Center. The event was one of two public live simulcasts occurring at the same time in two communities affected by major wildfires – the other live broadcast was held in Santa Monica, not far from the Pacific Palisades fire.
“All of these folks have been affected in some way, of course, by the tragic fires that happened in January,” said Andréa Fuentes, Ed.D., vice president, LA Opera Connects. Fuentes acts as a community liaison for the opera company. “So we’re just grateful for them to come out. We’re grateful that they’re part of this community and that this community is being rebuilt into the beautiful place that it’s always been.”
The Eaton Fire killed at least 19 people and destroyed more than 9,000 buildings, while the Palisades Fire burned more than 23,000 acres, caused a dozen deaths and destroyed 6,837 structures. Both rank among the top five most destructive wildfires in California’s history.
The Fate of Two Adjacent Homes
Claire Smith owned two homes on the same property in Altadena. “The front house burned down, and the second house is still standing, but it was severely damaged,” she explained while working at a booth for a nonprofit organization, Altadena Heritage. Smith said both of her houses were occupied by family members, including three sisters, a brother and their parents. Eight months later, they are all living with relatives in nearby cities while they wait for their homes in Altadena to be rebuilt.
“You do what you have to do,” she said.
Austin Scott was among a group of Altadena artists impacted by the fire who had a booth to exhibit and sell their work during LA Opera’s community pre-event.
One of Scott’s pieces was of two hands forming a heart with the inscription, “My heart lives in Altadena.”
“We were evacuated at 3 a.m., and my wife was 40 weeks pregnant.” Just 10 days after the fire, she gave birth. Although their home survived, their family life was significantly disrupted. Their children’s school was one of several campuses that suffered extensive damage or were destroyed.
“We lost all of our favorite businesses, my favorite restaurant, and our kids’ favorite park,” said Scott.
A Tribute to Altadena
A few months after the fire, Scott decided to honor the local businesses through a project called “Altadena Forever,” which included murals, paintings and clothing. The first mural, located at Unincorporated Coffee Roasters on the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Altadena Road, pays tribute to local merchants. “It features all of my favorite businesses that were lost in the fire,” he explained, describing the mural as an “emotional piece” that resonates deeply with the community.
Juan Hernandez, 22, an employee of the Tacos 210 food truck, said his business has picked up with the reconstruction efforts that have brought many building and cleaning crews. Also, as more residents move back in, they, too, are going back to the food truck.
Alonso Espindola, Hernandez’s coworker, shared a terrifying experience where they nearly lost the food truck to the raging flames. The fire engulfed a nearby building that was once a store, which was reportedly intended to reopen.
“We used to park next to it,” Espindola said in Spanish. Today, all that remains is the ground where the store stood and an empty parking lot.
Nonprofit Helps Businesses, Survivors
Sales for Tacos 210 took a hit, leaving Espindola and Hernandez without work for four months. Fortunately, they found a lifeline through a partnership with World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit dedicated to disaster relief, which provided meals for Altadena fire survivors. The food truck mainly operated from a church in East Pasadena. Hernandez noted, “We made food almost daily for World Central Kitchen.”
Similarly, many restaurants have managed to stay afloat by partnering with World Central Kitchen. Janet Lee from Fair Oaks Burger shared, “They paid for the meals, which allowed us to employ our staff.” Janet and her sister Christie set up a small crew at the LA Opera event to sell their burgers and remind everyone that they were back in business. “We’ve been open for four months,” said Lee.
LA Opera Brought Neighbors and Family Together
The gesture from LA Opera to bring their production of “West Side Story” was a welcome opportunity for former Altadena neighbors to reunite and for families to enjoy much-needed time together.
For Pantaleon Romero, from Altadena, going to Loma Alta Park on Saturday was a family affair. He purchased a cheeseburger from Fair Oaks Burger and joined his wife and three children, who spread out a blanket on the grass to watch the live performance of “West Side Story” on the big screen. Speaking in Spanish, he described the production as “beautiful.”
Romero also expressed pride in his teenage daughter, Jocelyn, who sang with the Marshall Fundamental School Choir during the pre-show before the livestream. This was her first time seeing “West Side Story.” For her, this experience was especially meaningful because she dreams of studying and singing opera.
While still very young, Jocelyn encouraged everyone to do what they could for Eaton Fire survivors, including donating clothes, shoes, sanitary supplies and other essential items. “That would be cool,” she said.
“The best thing for people to do right now is to show us some love,” agreed Scott. “Come to our town; say hi! Come to our businesses, have some lunch, some coffee, some margaritas at the Mexican restaurant. And that’s what we need right now. The businesses need to feel the support.”