"Nearly nine months after the Eaton fire destroyed something unique, something beloved, something cherished even more in death, the mountains remain scarred and dusty streets criss-cross the vanished neighborhoods of what is still, essentially, a ghost town. If it's true that time heals all wounds, the clock is moving slowly in Altadena, where 9,400 structures were destroyed and 19 lives were lost."
"There will be a resurrection, without question. Building permits are grinding slowly through the bureaucracy, hammers are swinging and a new Altadena will one day rise from the ashes. I know one homeowner who hopes to be in his newly built house in a month or two. Victoria Knapp of the Altadena Town Council told me she knows people who sold their lots immediately after the fire and now regret it."
""It could be years of living in a construction zone, and that's had me awake in the middle of the night with some panic attacks," said Kelly Etter, who lost the house where she lived with her husband and ran a Pilates studio. "When I go up there every week," said Elisa Nixon, whose home was badly smoke-damaged and needs an interior gutting, "I find it really sad and really depressing. I'm trying to imagine myself living there, and it's really hard.""
Nearly nine months after the Eaton fire, Altadena's hills and neighborhoods remain scarred, with 9,400 structures destroyed and 19 people killed. Rebuilding activity has begun, but bureaucratic delays and slow permitting mean roughly two-thirds of property owners have not applied to rebuild. Some homeowners are proceeding or regret selling lots, while many face exhaustion, uncertainty and emotional strain. Residents report panic attacks, depression and difficulty imagining life amid prolonged construction zones. County officials say permitting processes have been revamped and some rebuilding is underway, yet full recovery is likely to take years.
Read at Los Angeles Times
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]