66

MORE RECOVERY INFO

Mountain View News Saturday, August 9, 2025


GENUINE EATON CANYON FIRE EXPERIENCE Q & A

Where were you when the Eaton Canyon fire happened? At home in Altadena.

What area did you live in? For how long? I lived for 16 years north of Altade-na Drive, next to 
Christmas Tree Lane.

Were you active in the Altadena community? Extremely. I cannot express enough, how integrated 
I was within the beautiful Altadena community. I promoted Altadena as a Heaven 
amidst Hollywood. I raved about how beautiful Altadena was to the world.

I:

• Shopped locally and supported neighborhood businesses.

• Taught after-school programs at Altadena Arts Magnet Elementary, cover-ing French, 
English grammar, math, arts & crafts, theater, and music.

• Was a County of LA vendor—singing, teaching, performing, and participat-ing in 
events at Farnsworth Park and Loma Alta Park.

• Face-painted at holiday parks and recreation events.

• Walked the neighborhood daily, engaging with neighbors and businesses.

• I have lived around the world and felt that Alta Dena was my true home. I planned to 
retire in Altadena and have my ashes spread in the San Gabriel Mountains.

• Performed the first post-COVID concert at the Altadena Main Library.

• Helped local artists get into galleries, all the way to Palm Springs.

• Promoted Altadena as a hidden gem in Southern California.

• Was invited backstage at JPL by a scientist involved with the Mars Curiosi-ty rover.

• Hiked Eaton Canyon my first year during 4th of July celebration and was mesmerized 
by the fireworks that stretched all the way to Catalina Island.

How long have you been displaced from your home in Altadena? 7 months since the fire on Jan 
7th, 2025.

Since the fire, what has come through for you in regards to Assistance? Did any agency provide 
for you in any way? What did they do for you?

• Disaster Recovery Center helped with paperwork (passport, DMV registra-tion).

• The Red Cross provided one month of hotel stay—a special thank you to them.

Was communication with them easy or difficult? No. Communication with all agencies was 
difficult.

What type of housing, if any, were you given? No official housing was pro-vided.

Was any temporary housing safe? Not really. Through GoFundMe, I stayed in hotels 
that were often unsafe due to crime. Many didn’t accept dogs, forcing me into mediocre 
accommodations.

When you tried to contact the agencies, how were you treated? Poorly. I was treated as unimportant—
likely because I was a renter, and not a land own-er, and without children.

Were you given a timeline for financial assistance? No. I had to call count-less times, over and 
over, only to be told that the agencies had run out of funds.

What are your hopes for yourself at this time? I hope both myself and the Altadena community 
can recover from this trauma. I fear the charm of Altadena—the goats, ponies, chickens, 
honey stands—may never return. But I dream of a beautiful future for Altadena, that it can 
eventually rebuild itself..

Any final thoughts? I’m deeply disappointed by the unfulfilled promises from fundraisers like 
Fire-Aid and the Grammys. Funds are supposedly being distributed among various nonprofit 
organizations, but I’ve been told they haven’t been allocated. As a renter, I’ve witnessed the 
immense burden on homeowners and business owners. It has been difficult for everyone to 
rebuild and recover. Many are still struggling. A lot of promises have been made and broken.

 I want to thank Jacqueline Gibson and Eric Ekstrand for organizing a fundraiser for me and 
William Stranger's family. The only real help I've received has come from friends, fans and 
community members.

God bless Mountain Views News for spotlighting our struggle. Our recovery is far from over- 
but we dream, together, of a better future.

FIRE DEATH TOLL UPDATE

While the official death toll from January's Palisades and Eaton fires stands at 31, a research 
paper published today suggests the actual number of fire-related fatalities is actually much 
higher -- in the hundreds.

 The research paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded 
that there were 440 more deaths between Jan. 5 and Feb. 1in Los Angeles County than would 
be typically expected. Many of those arelikely attributable to the wildfires, which erupted Jan. 7.

 The additional deaths are likely attributable to fire-related factors such as lung or heart conditions 
that were exacerbated by smoke or stress and indirect causes such as disruptions to health 
systems and mental health impacts, according to the paper.

 ``Attributing deaths properly to a wildfire is just almost an impossible task,'' Andrew Stokes, 
an associate professor at Boston University and a mortality demographer who co-authored 
the research, told the Los Angeles Times. ``The research highlights the need for these types of 
modeling efforts to really get at the true burden of these disasters.''

 Researchers compared the number of recorded deaths in the county between Jan. 5 and Feb. 
1 with figures from other years -- excluding 2020-23,when the COVID-19 pandemic elevated 
the death totals.

 According to the paper, 6,371 deaths were recorded during that period this year, compared to 
5,931 that were anticipated based on the numbers from prior years. Officially, 19 deaths have 
been attributed to the Eaton Fire in Altadena and 12 in the Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades.

 Stokes told The Times that the actual number of fire-related deaths could continue to go 
higher due to lingering health effects such as poor air uality and exposure to smoke and ash.

 ``What we've done here is what we call a rapid assessment of the L.A. wildfire mortality,'' 
Stokes said. ``And as such, we only focus on the acute period in which the wildfires were burning 
in Los Angeles. But we hope that there will be further research to evaluate the long tail of 
these wildfires.'' (CNS)


FEMA SUPPORT ENDS AS DISASTER 
CASE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM 
CONTINUES AT REBUILDING CENTER

LOS ANGELES – As the demand for in-person services has decreased over time, the 
Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) in-person presence will end at 5 
p.m. July 31, 2025, at the One Stop Rebuilding Center. The California Governor’s Office 
of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) 
continue to provide support and remain available at the center, located at:

One Stop Rebuilding Center – LA City

1828 Sawtelle Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90025 

Monday-Friday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Closed weekends.

Services from Cal OES, FEMA and SBA will maintain in-person support for 
survivors at the Altadena Community Center, located at:

Altadena Community Center – LA County

730 E. Altadena Dr.

Altadena, CA 91001

Monday-Friday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Closed weekends.

To contact FEMA and stay in touch, visit DisasterAssistance.gov. 

To speak with a FEMA specialist directly call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362. If 
you use a video relay service, captioned telephone service, or other communication 
services, please provide FEMA the specific number assigned for that service. Lines are 
open daily from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com