On 31 January after 24 days of burning, the Eaton Fire was finally extinguished – in its wake was a place in both literal and emotional pieces. In Altadena, the Los Angeles area where the majority of the urban destruction took place, families were left with little to nothing. The majority of Altadena’s residents are not white; nearly 18% are Black. Half of the Black-owned or occupied homes in the area were damaged, or destroyed completely. While the rebuild is expected to take years and millions of dollars, the toxic smoke continues to spread.
“It happened all so fast,” says Avery Colvert, the 14-year-old founder of Altadena Girls, a fire recovery relief organization based in Altadena. “One minute I was at a friend’s house and we were hanging out and then the next minute, you look outside the window and the mountain is burning and the city is on fire.” Colvert’s home was safe, but her high school was lost. Still, she feels deep survivor’s guilt: “These kids and my friends and my classmates who I sit next to every day don’t have anything at all.”
With her friends missing their homes and belongings, Avery had the idea to do a small drive, collecting donations over the course of a week that she would bring to the shelters where victims of the Eaton fire were staying. “Within an hour of releasing the location where we were taking donations, there were people and trucks lined up at the street bringing stuff,” she reflects. Volunteers arrived to help her too. “It was really, really incredible.”
“These kids have nothing at all,” Colvert adds, “and I want them to feel confident in themselves again. Especially when you’re a teenager, the way you dress and how you do your hair, your makeup, is a part of your identity. It’s how you feel. And I wanted to create a space where people can get that, get that part of themselves back again.”
The offerings were so generous that Colvert decided to build a kind of pop-up store. There, each young person is paired up with a team of professionals who help them pick out clothes, make-up and hair care. The signups fill up quickly – in ten minutes 50 people signed up for appointments.
Seeing Altadena Girls take off – currently it has almost 60K followers on Instagram – has been “crazy” for Colvert. “It’s gone kind of viral, which is wild,” she says. “I’m very proud of that. Now there’s a boys group starting up and so many people have their own things, which I think is really great.”
Culvert’s work occurred in tandem with a handful of other newly formed teenage led groups in the city. Devin Berg is a 14-year-old who lost his home in the Eaton Fire. He has since co-founded Students Rebuild Altadena. After spotting a “massive” flame over the mountain, his family evacuated. The next day the family saw their house on the news burning up on television. “It’s just completely devastating, you know?” Berg says. “I mean, I could walk through there with a blindfold on. It’s like my childhood was kind of erased.”
When it came to launching the students’ own relief efforts, “I realized that the rebuild would take around four to six years,” Berg says. “So if I can help speed that up any way possible…”
“It’s horrible, seeing the area I grew up in just gone…but it’s inspiring to see so many people wanting to do something,” Lula Sefer, a 15-year-old member of the group says reflectively. Sarah Jung, 14, is glad that the Altadena community is coming together. “There’s so much support,” she says. “It’s really encouraging.”
The crew came together quickly. Berg launched the Instagram page and then reached out to Su because she’s good with technology. The group first volunteered together at the Elks Lodge in Glendale, where their middle school was hosting a drive. “We helped set up water there and clothes and all sorts of stuff, diapers, face wash, everything,” Berg says. “And then the next day we helped pass them out.”
Scientists think that, even with Los Angeles’ already poor air quality, some harmful toxins might be slipping through the net when it’s being measured. So the club has gone to various locations throughout the city to pass out N95 masks to those in need. Meanwhile, they’ve also coordinated a group of volunteers at Pasadena City College, helping direct traffic there, setting out tables, and picking up trash. “We’ve been having meetings once every week or two to discuss what we want to do next as an organization,” Su says.
Upon hearing what groups like Altadena Girls were doing, Samantha Mora and her 8-year-old son Logan banded together to launch their own platform: Altadena Boys. “I wanted to help the boys who lost their Xboxes, stuffies, PCs, and their other toys in the fire,” Logan says. “I knew it wouldn’t be fun for them if they lost their favorite stuff.”
Mora and her son helped put together a pop-up gifting suite that offered hygiene items, clothes, and necessities to those in need – as well as some bigger ticket items like gaming consoles, electronics, and toys to attendees ranging from 4 to 18. The multi-day event also included a barber’s station and a custom skateboard deck making area.
“I think seeing so many people that I know and recognize from the community get the help that they need, and having a smile on their face, warmed my heart,” Manny Shorter, an 18-year-old who’s been helping out with Altadena Boys says. Mason Pryor, 18, brought his two younger brothers to the event: “It made my day that much better in this time of sadness.”
The groups all have their own plans on how they will extend their legacies beyond what’s happening right now. Altadena Boys plans to launch a physical space that hosts workshops and talent offerings from pro athletes, musicians, songwriters, and producers. There will also be mental health and wellness experiences. “I just want for it to go forever,” Shorter says. Meanwhile, Students Rebuild Altadena are planning a benefit show. “Zoe and I are in a band together, we’re both into music,” says Sefer. They’d want other bands comprised of teenage girls to play.
For Altadena Girls, Colvert plans to open a permanent space in Old Town Pasadena where “hope, healing, and community will thrive.” As the announcement post shared on Instagram states, “Altadena Girls isn’t just about replacing what was lost; it’s about creating a bigger, bolder, brighter future for our girls!” With this, the new space will offer mental health services, dance and movement classes, homework and quiet rooms, a music room, and event spaces all meant to help the teens rebuild their confidence. ”With the support of our community and volunteers, Altadena Girls has become more than a response to tragedy,” Colvert says. “It’s now a movement of resilience, care, and support.”
Written by: Sara Radin
Photography: Michael Irwin