Little Red Henne, a family -owned café in Altadena, was destroyed in fatal fires of the last month.
With kind permission: Shay family
When the forest fires of Los Angeles swept through South California in January, Barbara Shay lost much more than the building in which the café owned her.
Gone were the ingredients for menu elements such as groats or pancakes. Gone were the photos of icons, which range from former President Barack Obama to actor Richard Pryor, who had lined the walls. The decades of working from Shay's family were also decades.
“I'm still shocked,” said Shay in an interview with CNBC. “It is an emotional roller coaster – not only for me, but only for everyone.”
Shay is part of the diverse substance of small businessmakers in Altadena, a city that is about 15 miles outside the downtown La, which was hit hard by the Blaze of the last month. While the community begins for years of reconstruction process, entrepreneurs like Shay begin to start their ways forward.
She plans to rebuild the 70-year-old Little Red Hen Café and evaluates finances for opening a temporary shop or popup. The business extends over generations: After she has followed her mother's footsteps in her mother and brother, she now works with her daughter and grandson.
But while many remain optimistic in the entrepreneurial community of Altadena in terms of recovery, several business owners describe long and difficult roads in front of us.
Some companies were completely burned onto the ground like Shays, while others are exposed to long -term expulsion due to damage or smoke. For those who are lucky enough to have stationary real estate, they are surrounded by what some have described in interviews as “Ground Zero”.
“It's kind of unfathomable,” said Henri Wood, who owned a cannabis business called Florish Group, which was burned down. “What was once only a living, lively community is just away.”
A look at the Burnn Down Auditorium of the Eliot Arts Magnet Academy and the supermarkets in Altadena, Los Angeles, California, United States on January 12, 2025.
Lokman Vural Elibol | Anatolia | Getty pictures
“A resilient community”
Altadenas diversity cannot be understood. Census data show that more than half of the population are colored people. Latinos make up 27% of the residents and blacks that make up 18%.
Altadena was historically known as a hub for black families and companies after being released one of the few areas in Los Angeles County during the Redlining civil rights movement. The Associated Press found that the home ownership rate for black in Altadena is now over 80%, which is almost twice as high as the national average.
But the business owners of Altadena – many of them have also grew up and now raise families – fear that the fires will leave this diversity in the rubble. Emerka Chukwurah, founder of the village's Community Center Rhythm, said that he was concerned that the fires will accelerate the gentrification that already takes place in the neighborhood.
According to the Altadena Heritage, black residents made up more than 40% of the city population in 1980. This proportion has been more than halved since then. Chukwurah has sold Altadena brand goods to prevent the community and its diversity from being forgotten by a broader society.
“I hope that we can keep the developers and this kind of people in chess so that we can stick to what has been built up over generations,” said Chukwurah. “I hope that this will be as a resilient community in the history books and that a large number of us – or, if not, can remain to all of us to tell the story.”
Firefighters and search and rescue team members are near a banner, while the Eaton Fire continues on January 15, 2025 in Altadena, Los Angeles County, California, USA.
Daniel Cole | Reuters
The insurance agent Maricela Viramontes saw how homeowners in the city at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains react first -hand. Many are used to fires due to its geographical location, she said, but they would not have expected the destruction in January. According to an estimate by Accuweather, the fatal fires caused more than 250 billion US dollars of damage and economic loss.
Viramontes, who has lived in Altadena for almost 25 years, woke up in the morning in an animal shelter in the morning because it was the only place where her family could evacuate. In the early morning she began to receive calls while she was still looking for customers in the animal shelter who searched for instructions for submitting claims for lost property.
It is the same paperwork that she too fills it. Shortly after that day, Viramontes learned that her home and car were both destroyed. Your office needs repairs for smoke damage for months.
“Everyone asks: 'What can I do?' How can I help you? “It is so difficult to answer this question if you don't know.”
Community members visit a donation center that took over the parking lot on the Santa Anita racetrack to collect urgently needed food, water, clothing and supplies after the Eton fire in Altadena on Monday, January 13, 2025 in Arcadia, CA.
Jason Armond | Los Angeles Times | Getty pictures
When companies start to clear their land with the draft of plans and to build new structures, make plans to make ends meet at short notice.
For example, Woods Cannabis Shop has associated customers directly with providers while determining a long -term strategy. He called donations and mutual help as a “lifeline” for the business, of which he said that he is excluded from several state aid programs because marijuana is not legalized.
I want to “heal”
Several entrepreneurs surveyed by CNBC said they were considering short -term rentals. They also consider business loans, although there are concerns, money with the financial prospects for their activities to debts, which are so insecure.
These owners have not forgotten that they are part of a community that deals with the moment.
Steve Salinas, who has had a namesake bike shop in Altadena for almost four decades, repaired donated bicycles and renegotiated them with community members. He donated parts in other shops and money support from Gofundme.
“Everyone helps wherever they can,” said Salinas, who is looking for a short -term rental space after burning their shop. “People who have lost everything donate their time and resources and, above all, their connections to help other people in the community.”
Steve Salinas protects himself from intensive heat when he strikes the roof of a neighbor in Altadena, California, as forest fires on January 8, 2025 in the Los Angeles area.
Robert Gauthier | Los Angeles Times | Getty pictures
Rhythms of the village of Chukwurah also opened a free boutique with clothing and other necessities in his family. It is the temporary headquarters for the business that previously offered drum lessons and classes about Nigerian languages and African history after its shop windows burned down.
Chukwurah said that he had undertaken to keep the business in the Altadena area. While finding a new location for the center, he plans to rent this time instead of renting this time.
“The structures are below,” he said, “but the community spirit has expired.”
How to help small companies in Altadena
Several companies presented in this story have set up gofundme sites for donations. Here are left:
– NBC messages contributed to this report.
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