"Before the fire, Heather Rutman could look up the street from her frontyard to see if her mom was home. Sometimes when her kids were playing outside and her mom was coming back from the store, they'd jump in her car to go play at grandma's house. In the late afternoon, Highland Avenue came alive with families playing catch, neighbors walking dogs together, children biking and skateboarding. At night, Rutman often joined her neighbor Pearlin De Long on her strolls, catching others along the way."
"More than half the neighborhood is gone now. But in the months that passed since the Eaton fire, the neighbors have continued to talk remotely and meet regularly to figure out how to rebuild their little world, where parents raised their kids where they had grown up, where the neighbor who had chickens shared their eggs, where residents of all ages watched annual fireworks shows and gathered at block parties and movie nights."
Highland Avenue was a tightly knit, tree-canopied block in Altadena where neighbors socialized daily and families planted deep roots. Many households shared routines: parents watched children play, neighbors walked together, and community events included fireworks, block parties, and movie nights. The Eaton fire destroyed about 30 homes; fewer than 20 houses remain and more than half the neighborhood is gone. Despite devastation, most residents have vowed to return and meet regularly to plan rebuilding. The loss exposed views of downtown as tree cover thinned, left empty, scraped lots, and moving-storage pods in front of standing homes. Strong relationships drive reconstruction.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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