Thousands of Altadena residents are still reeling from the Eaton Fire, and one group of neighbors — who first came together to walk their dogs — have since expanded and rebranded into a means of staying connected and providing each other emotional support.
About 50 people gathered Tuesday at La Cañada Presbyterian Church for the second meeting of what they call “The Order of The Phoenix,” a reference to the mythological bird that is reborn from its ashes. Some of them traveled from Studio City, Simi Valley, North Hollywood and beyond.
The goal of the gathering? To put aside post-disaster to-dos and connect with friends and neighbors for a couple of hours.
“This is the type of community we cannot let go of,” said Michele Judd, who lost her home in the fire. “We must preserve Altadena. And we have an incredibly diverse community.
“And I’m really worried we’re going to lose that.”
Judd, an engineer who recently retired from Caltech and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said she and neighbor Chelsea Cartwright started walking their dogs together around five years ago. What started as just the two of them ballooned to a group of more than a dozen walkers. And that grew into even larger community gatherings.
“I guess it’s our only way of keeping Altadena together is to keep the people together,” said Cartwright, who also lost her home. “Because while everybody may not be able to go home… being able to see our neighbors that we used to see everyday is important to us.”
At the Feb. 18…
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