Altadena rebuilds 9 months after devastating Eaton Fire: 'So much love and humanity'
Nine months after a devastating wildfire ravaged Los Angeles' Altadena community, residents and businesses across the region are making strides toward recovery.
ABC News' Chris Connelly spoke to community members on the ground who are looking to rebuild Altadena after the Eaton Fire, which killed 19 people and destroyed over 9,000 structures.
On Tuesday morning, Altadena residents got their first look at "The Collaboratory," a one-stop shop for Eaton Fire survivors. The new warehouse will provide dozens of resources under one roof for residents looking to rebuild their lives, including therapy, rebuilding guidance and necessary items, all at no cost.
"I think it also allows us to collaborate more, and that's what this space is really all about," said Brandon Lamar, treasurer of the Eaton Fire Collaborative Long-Term Recovery Group.
Altadena Town Council Chair Victoria Knapp added, "We want people who are displaced, particularly those that have to come into town, that are looking to rebuild, to have a place where they can come."
She noted that "two thirds of the structures in our town are gone."
Janet Lee, whose family-run burger shop, Fair Oaks Burger, has been a fixture in the community for nearly four decades, described the nine-month recovery mark as a "turning point where people are feeling a lot more hopeful."
"There's neighborhoods that are getting together, saying, 'Let's do this together. Let's build together,'" said Lee, whose parents' home was destroyed in the Eaton Fire.
She added, "Right now, the only thing that's a bit hard for people is the permitting."
Lee and her sister Christy were forced to close down their burger shop as the fires tore through the community this past January, but that did not stop the sisters from serving tacos and burgers to their affected Altadena neighbors from their parking lot.
"It was actually quite healing in some ways, 'cause we were all kinda grieving together," said Christy Lee. "Just knowing that we were able to feed them and give them a little taste of Altadena again -- it was actually quite therapeutic."
The shop has since reopened its doors.
For some businesses whose former locations were destroyed, the year has demanded creative ways to keep their proverbial doors open.
Shelene Hearring, founder of Two Dragons Martial Arts Studio, was determined to keep her students together as she organized meetings in parks and garages -- and now, she has a brand-new location.
"I had grandparents and everybody just crying, thanking me and hugging me," said Hearring of her business' re-opening. "We gotta stay together. We gotta heal together. We're gonna be okay together as a community of people."
In total, the Eaton Fire killed 19 people, most of whom lived on the community's west side.
"Unfortunately, the people that passed, a lot of them were our customers," said Janet Lee.
But, she said, there has been a silver lining in how the community has recovered following the tragedy.
"Through all this tragedy brought so much love and humanity back to Altadena," she said. "And it was great to see. And it's still going on now."
