18 months since the Eaton Fire

It's been a year and a half since the Eaton fire, and the community of Altadena is slowly building back. But just like in the Palisades, there's still so much more to be done. Fox 11 was there, of course, when the fire broke out, and Fox 11's Christopher Harder was in the Altadena live for us tonight with a look at the recovery progress there. Christy? Yeah, as you know, more than 6,000 homes burned in the Eaton fire, and according to the county dashboard, since then, they have issued approximately 3,000 permits to rebuild. 1,800 buildings are under some level of construction, and 101, as of this morning, residential units had been completed. But we're actually on this block because that does not tell the complete story. In fact, we talked to one family who had called this street home for almost 50 years, and they tell us although their heart and their business is still here in Altadena, they no longer live here. Take a look. In the 18 months since the Eaton fire destroyed Tarasca Allen's apartment and her mother Edna's home and daycare, every day has brought challenges and successes. Both women had daycares, and Tarasca's world of little angels survived the fire, and the pair were determined to not let down the kids they cared for or the parents, many of whom had been displaced. So they decided to merge their daycares into the surviving building, getting an emergency waiver to take in more kids in the space, and maxing out credit cards to equip the location, even as they had no place to call home. But in the aftermath of the fire, for every success, there are setbacks. Both women tell us they were priced out of Altadena and now commute, and say many of their lifelong friends have moved away, too. We could all say why me, but it was so many people affected by the fire, but I think it's just like a 50-50. Some people were able to kind of get their things going, and then some people just had a little bit more of a struggle than others. I think some of that was because some of the people that have been up there for a long time, you know, they kept the same insurance. Some of them didn't upgrade their insurance, so therefore they didn't have the money, you know, to rebuild. And they say they are still facing some challenges. The daycare that they are now operating out of, they're doing that with an emergency waiver that allows them to have 40 children. It previously had housed about 15 children, and they say that that waiver is about to expire. So they're now looking for a larger location, but are running into higher rent prices, and, you know, just there's a challenge finding open spaces that large. So they're asking anyone out there who might know of something to reach out and let them know. Live in Altadena, I'm Christy Fajardo, listening back to you. Christy, we know they're not alone. As the woman said, there are so many people affected. I'm just wondering about the property behind you and what you're seeing as you drove through the neighborhood. Basically, this is what we're seeing. You'll see one vacant lot and another one with a home that's under construction, and then another home that looks like it survived the fire. And, you know, if we pan the other direction, though, you'll just see several empty lots. And that's really the story that you will see here if you drive out to Altadena. Very sobering still. Thank you, Christy.