In Altadena's Ashes, Hope Rises: A Community's Response to the Fire

This satellite image of Altadena captures devastation beyond words. So many homes are burned to the ground in the Eaton Fire. My friends and neighbors are shell-shocked, unmoored, grappling with the loss of everything they own.

Our house still stands, but with water and power out and soot everywhere, it’s uninhabitable. We may not be able to return for months. In the meantime, we’ve been couch-surfing, leaning on remarkably generous friends.

💡 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐭. Just a week ago, I was the Admin of the pickleball WhatsApp group for the Altadena country club. When the fire exploded, our club burned down, and nearly every member of the group lost their home or was forced to evacuate. In an instant, our group became a lifeline—tracking the fire’s movement, sharing critical updates, and coordinating resources for one another.

To extend this support to others in need, we renamed the group and opened it to all displaced families in the area. Now the 𝐄𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨 & 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐇𝐮𝐛, it's grown to over 400 members—a space to share insurance tips, remediation advice, donation opportunities, and more. Together, we ensure that no one has to navigate this tragedy alone.

I never imagined I’d be leading a disaster support group, but am grateful to have a tangible way to help our community move forward.

🏠 The immediate crisis? Housing. With over 100,000 displaced in a county already in housing crisis, folks are facing huge odds in securing near-term and longer-term housing.

Amidst the chaos, the resilience of our community shines through. When someone posts a question, the collective hive mind jumps in with solutions. Volunteer leaders tirelessly update a shared resource document daily. It’s inspiring to see neighbors helping neighbors through the unimaginable.

It feels like everywhere we turn, people are offering donations, volunteering their time, jumping in to help us. Thank you, world!

Even in the face of overwhelming support, heartbreak finds its way in. We’ve dealt with looters near our home—thankfully cleared out by the National Guard now stationed on our block. A friend who lost everything discovered scammers had created a fake GoFundMe using his story and photo.

It took a disaster of biblical proportions for many of us to meet one another. But Altadena has proven that 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫—𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥.

If you know someone who's been displaced and would like to join the group, connect with me.

❤️ To everyone who’s reached out: your kindness means the world. Apologies for the delays in responding—managing being nomadic, keeping up with work and kids, and nurturing this group has kept me busy. 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞’𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞.