April 17th marks the 100 days since the start of the Los Angeles wildfires, with cleaning and reconstruction efforts continuing.
However, the reconstruction process has only just begun for many neighbors in the Altadena community.
The Lake Avenue grocery outlet bargain market is currently open and is one of the only places to get food and other supplies locally.
The “Now Open” sign can be seen in front of Altadena businesses, but much of the area’s traffic is trucks and is part of an ongoing cleanup effort.
Dr. Michelle and Amber Tyson grew up in Altadena, where their former family and thriving clinic stood.
“I was driving with my mother and she just said, ‘I can’t believe it,'” Amber said. “‘If your father lived to see this,’ you know, he worked so hard. He gave birth to many babies just to pay for this land. ”
More recently, the Washington Boulevard location has been leased to Altamed, a federally qualified health center.
“As things are shaping, when we get back on track, we need to consider what the community remains and which part of that community is who we are and what aligns most with what we want to do,” Michelle said.
Commercial companies are not part of the Army Corps of Engineers and therefore they work to clear the shards, so businesses must hire private contractors.
Efforts are also underway to recycle concrete and metal from homes destroyed by the Eton fire.
According to the Corps website, more than 5,000 properties are expected to be cleared, with over 1,200 in the “final sign-off” stage. This means you’re ready for the next step.
This process has concerns from neighbors who still have a home standing about possible air and soil contaminants.
“We were working with families who have moved from 14 different hotels since January 7th, and although they don’t exist yet, we still have no place to live with our family forever,” Taylor said.
Hundreds of people still live far from their neighborhoods for decades.
Taylor, Ash and Kaila are part of the community organization “Altadena Rising.” Kaila lost five family homes and her step-grandmother in law in the fire.
“It’s like you’re grieving the city, you’re grieving your town, you’re grieving your memories,” said Kaila.
The group has been working to bring relief efforts to community members.
“We work with local organizers and we work with our ground families, so we are constantly trying to connect the dots and make sure the resources are being delivered to our families from the organization.
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