It has been a month since the wildfire swept through the area, but the time has not been sufficient for the wounds in the affected regions to heal. In the northeastern part of LA, where the Eaton Fire broke out, Altadena is still struggling. Unlike other affected areas under Pasadena’s jurisdiction, which receive full-scale support, aid and recovery efforts here remain distant.
On February 5 and 6, the Korea Daily visited the scarred site twice. Many buildings are still covered in soot, and numerous businesses remain closed. Korean business owners in the area, trying to keep their livelihoods afloat, can only sigh as their sales plummet. When will everyday life, buried under ashes and debris, return? Beneath the sighs of despair and resignation lies a desperate struggle to survive.
At 12:30 p.m. on February 5, at the intersection of North Fair Oaks Avenue and East Calaveras Street, a drizzle was dampening the nearly deserted streets. The gray sky made the soot-covered streets appear even darker. A chilling emptiness filled the air as we looked around. The area was strewn with debris, and surrounding buildings burned beyond recognition.
Amid the ruins, the only structure that survived the fire was Fair Oaks Burger, a restaurant run by Korean couple Kiseon Lee (81) and Jeongja Yoo (75). The couple had lived just five minutes away from their business. But now, returning home is no longer an option. Their house was destroyed in the fire, and they are currently staying at their son’s home in Glendale.
Was it a small stroke of luck that their restaurant was spared? Yoo called the place “a space filled with traces of our life” and said, “I don’t know why this shop alone didn’t burn.”
Although the fire did not consume their business, they could not bring themselves to celebrate. Instead of the usual aroma of burgers and the lively chatter of customers, the air is thick with the stench of burnt remains.
The couple has run this restaurant since its opening in 1987, for 38 years. Their customers are like family to them, and they feel the pain of those affected by the fire.
“Some of our customers first came here as children, and even as adults, they still visit and call us ‘Mommy’ and ‘Papi,'” Yoo said. “We’ve spent decades with this community—how could we just walk away?”
The problem is that they have no idea when they will reopen. Authorities have provided little guidance.
“It’s been nearly a month, and we still have no electricity. We’ve also been told not to use the water because it contains toxic substances,” Lee lamented. “I have no clue when we’ll be able to resume business.”
For them, Altadena is a second home. However, with the slow pace of recovery, whether they can ever return remains uncertain.
“This entire area has been burned to the ground. Restoring it will take an incredibly long time,” Lee said. “All we can do now is wait endlessly for a call from the insurance company.”
About a mile from Fair Oaks Burger, on Lake Avenue, stands Poppy Cleaners, a dry-cleaning business run by 70-year-old Youngsang Jeon for the past 15 years. The place is now nothing but ashes and debris, making it hard to believe a dry cleaner ever stood there.
Jeon has dedicated his entire life to this work. “I’ve been in the dry-cleaning business since I was 27 in 1983,” he said. “I opened my first shop in Downey and operated in different locations before settling in Altadena.”
Rebuilding his dry-cleaning business would cost at least $1 million, with equipment alone requiring $300,000 to $600,000. However, the maximum insurance payout he can receive is $500,000, leaving him to rely on loans for the rest—if he can secure them.
“The insurance company keeps asking for paperwork and conducting inspections over and over again,” Jeon said with frustration.
“I just hope they don’t find an excuse to deny my claim,” he added. “Not just my shop, but every building around here is gone. I don’t even know if rebuilding is an option.”
Altadena falls under Los Angeles County jurisdiction, meaning it lacks its city government and instead relies on support from the neighboring City of Pasadena. Compared to Pacific Palisades, which receives assistance from the larger City of Los Angeles, Altadena has been left with significantly fewer resources.
“People here are frustrated that President Donald Trump only visited the Palisades wildfire area,” Jeon pointed out. “The truth is, Altadena, with its weaker financial foundation, needs help far more than the wealthy Palisades.”
Altadena doesn’t even have a properly established shelter. On February 6, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors finally decided to extend operations at the Pasadena Convention Center shelter for another week.
Lisa Derderian, a spokesperson for the City of Pasadena, stated, “As of last week, over 220 residents who lost their homes were still staying at the convention center, most of them from Altadena.”
Even for those whose businesses survived the flames, the lack of customers has been devastating.
Jungguk Oh, who works at the Alta-Dena Dairy, said, “Since the wildfire, our sales have dropped by more than half, to the point where we might have to shut down.” He added, “Right now, this area is practically unlivable.”
Altadena residents continue pleading with officials as the sluggish recovery drags on. On February 7, Pasadena Now reported that an Altadena Housing Committee meeting lasted more than six hours. Residents gathered to demand action, as neither landlords nor authorities had cleared the fire debris.
The outlet reported, “Dozens of people attended the meeting. Some residents were quoted as receiving cleanup estimates as high as $60,000—a massive financial burden. The situation in Altadena requires urgent recovery efforts and assistance.”
Even the National Taekwondo Center, run by Master Kunjung Lee, now stands eerily silent, void of the usual sounds of students shouting their kicks. The center previously held six classes a day, with 20 to 30 students per session.
Instructor Jihwan Oh (45) said, “After the fire if even 10 students show up, that’s considered a good turnout.” Many students have requested refunds, leaving the future of the school uncertain.
Still, they have decided to wait. The center continues offering free classes to financially struggling families.
“It will take time for this community to recover,” Oh said. “But I know the children will return.”
The wildfire took everything from Altadena. But it could not burn away the belief that one day, the sun will shine here again.
BY KYEONGJUN KIM, HANKIL KANG [kim.kyeongjun1@koreadaily.com]
