By Victoria Mejicanos
AFRO Staff Writer
vmejicanos@afro.com
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
A year after the Eaton Fire blew through 14,000 acres of the historically Black neighborhood of Altadena, Calif., the community is still processing collective trauma and fighting to keep its place in an ever-changing neighborhood that was already facing gentrification.
Across the city, there are signs on front lawns that read “Altadena is not for sale,” and feet away are patches of freshly grown grass where homes used to be, with even larger “For Sale” signs.
According to census data, more than 18 percent of residents in the area are Black.
Keith Mehlinger is a tenured professor of cinematic arts and sciences at Morgan State University and deals with the pressure of Altadena’s new reality from thousands of miles away. During his interview with the AFRO, Mehlinger had to pause to decline calls from people wanting to buy one of his properties in the area.
Mehlinger is a Pasadena native familiar with displacement, as his childhood home was taken away to build the freeway, which led his family to move to nearby Altadena.
He’s facing the same pressures again after one of his properties burned down. Although he’s determined to rebuild, it comes with challenges. But, his family history—from sharecroppers to attorneys—reminds him of his resilience. He considers what happened in Altadena the next chapter of his family’s history.
According to Mehlinger, dealing with insurance companies “can be a full time job.” He’s not alone.
A recent study by the Department of Angels, a nonprofit group that was formed after the fires, states that “4 in 10 insurance policyholders have experienced serious insurability issues, such as large premium increases and dropped coverage.”
For remediation on another property he owns, Mehlinger says the California FAIR plan, which is a state program that provides basic fire coverage for high risk properties, will only cover smoke and soot, and not burn. Mehlinger says that for many of his friends who are in their 70s or older, the constant battle with insurance companies can be especially taxing.
The cost of rebuilding for Mehlinger could range from $1.5 million to $1.9 million.
“There’s a lot of displacement,” said Mehlinger. “We were already under pressure against gentrification, which is the natural evolution of things, not only on the West Coast … .”
Not only has insurance been difficult to navigate, but other residents of Altadena are only now acknowledging the trauma of that day.
Kevin Williams has been a resident of Altadena since 1965, and has owned his home for 31 years. His home caught on fire three times. Each time, he and his community fought the fires themselves. Now 70 years old, he says the emotional trauma of the fires is the most difficult aspect for him.
“It’s not just the grief,” said Williams. “I’m suffering from a loss. I’ve lost the community. How do you rebuild that? How do you get that back? Because Altadena was a very unique place to live.”
What keeps Willaims grounded is his faith, which has provided him community.
“Faith is first what roots you,” said Williams. “Knowing that things will get better—and they are. We’ve developed relationships with friends that are stronger now; we’ve developed relationships with people who we barely knew. They’re our friends now. We’ve developed relationships with people who we didn’t know at all, and they’re our friends. So that’s been the bright spot.”
Dr. Crystal Watkins is a nationally recognized researcher in studies of resilience and coping capacity in the geriatric population and is a psychiatrist at MedStar Health. She explained the complexities of trauma, especially on anniversaries.
“When you’re in the middle of everything, you have so many resources, support [and] people around you,” said Watkins. “You have that kind of shared community sense and anniversaries are often worse, because you don’t have that sense of surrounding and belonging, and people are often then going through those stages by themselves.”
Kierstin “Kiki” Williams is a third generation Altadenian and the niece of Kevin Williams. She is the manager of the only Black-owned independent bookstore in Pasadena, Ocatavia’s Bookshelf, owned by Nikki High. A few days following the fires, she and High made the store a resource hub with people bringing food, clothes and other necessities for three months straight. With her family being in the neighborhood since 1965 and her still living in the area, she feels more connected to the community despite its changes.
“It’s hard not to be here, live here, be from here and not feel connected to it,” said Williams about the tragedy.