WHEN CECILIA ESTOLANO, going through a lengthy divorce, needed to find a place to live with her two children, Altadena embraced her. The house she rented had a grassy yard, views of the San Gabriel Mountains, and welcoming neighbors. She didn’t lock her doors. The owners of her home, a Black couple who had lived in Altadena for three decades, ran a small business out of the garage, and the two families celebrated Thanksgiving together under a gazebo out back. “It was such a safe, diverse, fun, kooky, cool community,” Estolano says. “The people, the physical space, the nature—I landed in this incredible refuge to heal.”
But after her home was heavily damaged by the Eaton fire in January, Estolano fears that she’ll never be able to return. Her landlords, who lost their own home as well, are still in limbo, negotiating with their insurance company to get the funds to rebuild what was supposed to be their nest egg. Unlike some Altadenans who have moved a dozen times or more, Estolano has found a stable living situation—she’s currently staying in Los Feliz. But she’s now …