More than a year after Mena Liu fled her Pasadena apartment building as the Eaton Fire bore down, she knows she’s not fully recovered. She’s sad. She’s anxious. She still avoids driving past burned out lots in her neighborhood.
Hundreds of Altadena residents — many still displaced by the Eaton Fire — gathered recently at the town’s third annual Earth Day to reconnect, reflect and recommit to rebuilding their community with intention.
The massive fire map takes up an entire wall of the Malibu Community Long Term Recovery Group. It tells the story of the sprawling Palisades Fire in a way that is both visceral and clear. It has become a focal point and an inspiration for fire survivors to share their stories.
Older adults who lost homes, possessions and stability in the 2025 Eaton Fire are receiving critical support, thanks to a partnership between the California Community Foundation (CCF) and Pasadena Village.
Healing began for Altadena resident Akiko Nishio not only with rebuilding her home, but with putting her hands in clay at the Armory Center for the Arts.
A few weeks after the Eaton Fire incinerated swaths of Altadena and Pasadena last year, Jane Lawton Potelle returned to Altadena to survey her home, which had escaped destruction. Within minutes, she knew something was wrong.