Nearly 500 days after the Eaton Fire began in Eaton Canyon on January 7, 2025, most of Altadena’s rental housing has yet to take a measurable step toward recovery. About 74 percent of identified rental units inside the fire perimeter remain on properties with no public record of rebuilding permits, property sales or active listings, according to a February policy brief from UCLA’s Latino Policy and Politics Institute. On Thursday evening, the Altadena Tenants Union and UCLA LPPI convene an online panel to ask, plainly, what comes next.
“Who Gets to Come Back? Tenants and the Future of Altadena After the Eaton Fire” runs Thursday, May 21, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. via online registration. Gabriella Carmona, senior research analyst at UCLA LPPI and lead author of the housing brief, presents new findings on the state of Altadena’s rental market pre- and post-fire. A panel discussion and Q&A follows.
Confirmed speakers include state Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, who was elected to the 25th Senate District in November 2024 and represents Pasadena, Altadena and 19 other communities; Carmona; Katie Clark, co-founder of the Altadena Tenants Union, who moderates; Leora Mosman, co-founder of the Altadena Tenants Union; Shannon Larsuel, board president of the Altadena Community Land Trust and Altadena organizing lead at Essie Justice Group; and Palin Ngaotheppitak, executive director of Beacon Housing, a nonprofit affordable housing developer.
UCLA LPPI’s brief, “Rebuilding for Whom?,” found Altadena had at least 792 recorded rent-stabilized units before the fire, more than one-third of its rental market, and that two-thirds of those units fell inside the fire perimeter. Homeowners, renters, allies and neighbors are all invited.
