Advocates gather to demand equitable fire recovery for longtime Altadena residents, immigrants and others

Mirian Gomez was cleaning her employer’s home in Pacific Palisades last week when he suddenly yelled for her to leave. When she told him it wasn’t time for her to go, he took her to a window to show her the flames.

“He told me, ‘You must leave right now,’” Gomez said.

She told her story to a crowd of activists, clergy and community members who packed First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Pasadena on Friday to call for “unity and equitable recovery and restoration” after the Eaton fire devastated the Pasadena and Altadena communities.

Advocates urged policymakers to move quickly to help domestic workers, landscapers, fixed-income seniors and small-business owners recover from the disaster and said they are worried about longtime local residents facing pressure to sell their properties, undocumented workers struggling to get relief because of their legal status, and working-class residents facing price gouging even as they struggle to meet basic needs.

Mirian Gomez, who lives in Hollywood, speaks at First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Pasadena about how her life was affected by the recent wildfires.

(James Carbone / For De Los)

Gomez said she joined the event to be a voice for her friends who, like her, lost their livelihoods last week when their employers’ houses burned down and are now trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces.

Pastor Kerwin Manning of Pasadena Church said that 18 members of his congregation had lost their homes in the Eaton fire. But he and other pastors were committed to standing up for the most vulnerable people in the community.

“We believe that there is a promise that out of the ashes, beauty is going to rise,” Manning said. He asked the crowd to repeat after him, “Beauty will rise!”

Manning asked for people to raise their hands if they or a loved one had been affected by the fires. Nearly everyone’s hand shot up.

At First AME Church, 54 members who lost their homes are dealing with insurance companies, FEMA and “wolves in sheep’s clothing prowling at the gates to take advantage of us while we are under duress,” said Pastor Larry Campbell.

Pastor Kerwin Manning of Pasadena Church, during a gathering at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Pasadena, asked guests to raise their hands if they had been impacted by the recent Eaton fire.

(James Carbone / For De Los)

Donny Kincey, a fourth-generation Altadenan, lost everything in the fire, including his artwork and his home. Choking back tears, he urged neighbors to stay and fight for the city they love so much and to rebuild.

He also encouraged people who, like him, are too proud to accept help because there are people with so much less. Now is not the time, he said.

“My pride died in the fire,” he said.

Brenda Solórzano had lived in Altadena only a few months when she was displaced by the fires. The chief executive of the California Endowment said it will take years to rebuild and she pledged to use her platform to ensure that Altadena and Pasadena are not abandoned when the news cycle has moved on to something else.

“In a week and in a month, people will leave and forget about us,” she said. “And I’m going to call on the philanthropic community to be here, to stay here and to not forget about us.”

Rosa Salas has lived in the Pasadena/Altadena area — which the community lovingly refers to as “the Dena” — since her father came to California from Mexico. He was the anchor for other family members to settle there and create generational wealth and homeownership, she said.

She credited African American trailblazers with breaking barriers put in place by redlining in many Los Angeles neighborhoods and creating a sanctuary for Black and Latino families to live and thrive.

Community members wrote supportive messages for Eaton fire survivors during the Friday gathering.

(James Carbone / For De Los)

Salas’ voice began to crack as she recalled seeing the devastation after the fire that took so many homes and destroyed Saint Mark’s School where she is a teacher.

“At Saint Mark’s, some of our families faced the unimaginable loss of their home, school, place of worship and place to work,” said Salas who spoke as a representative of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights where her sister, Angélica Salas, is executive director.

Yet Salas finds hope in the way the community has come together. These include neighbors who helped douse burning embers, day laborers who volunteered to clean the streets and incarcerated firefighters “who inspire hope in the face of tragedy.”

“The urgency of this moment cannot be overstated,” she said. “The response must be swift, equitable and accessible, ensuring that no one fear seeking aid due to their immigration status or faces insurmountable obstacles.”

As the community is being rebuilt, the history of the courageous people who came before must be honored so it can be passed on to the next generation, Salas said.

“’Dena’ has always been a place where barriers are broken, doors are open and care is extended to all,” she said. “I will rebuild, we will rebuild.”

Yvonne Condes is a freelance writer and contributing editor to Picturing Mexican America, a project that works to uncover the whitewashed history of Mexican Los Angeles. You can find her on Instagram: @yvonneinla.